Reis Ayanami
by Enigmatic Magus
Summary: Daniel Kerrigan wasn't quite drifting, but when opportunity knocks in a NERV uniform, he signed on. Now, a few years later, he's given an all new task, with all new responsibilities, that will try everything from his patience to his very will to survive.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion, and I make no monetary profit from placing this story on the web.

Rei(s) Ayanami

By: Taiteki Kagato

What remained of the planet was virtually unrecognizable after the Second Impact. From the immediately-following panic, to the global warfare, no land went unscathed.

While the northern hemisphere's coastlines were relatively shielded from the tidal waves the detonation of Antarctica induced, their shores sunk below the waves just like the rest of the worlds, and I watched daily reports as my once-familiar country shrank along its edges, until it was unrecognizable to anyone who'd not known of its changes.

The media, those that were based out of centrally-located cities anyway, continued to report the changes our planet faced, the effects of the new orbital alignment, and whatever else they could get experts in various fields to say the meteorite's effect had been. To a young child, though, these details were lost to me, and I did my best to stay out of the way, as things slowly ground onward.

Worse was the mental shift that occurred as time went on. Childbirth was difficult, rare, and much more prone to failure than before, and the loss of a large portion of the population meant that the children left were suddenly as important as adults. Being only eight at the time, I remember the sudden shifts in society, as I became an "adult" almost overnight, despite my body's literal age. Decisions I'd never bothered with before were now thrust upon me, and choices I used to have were stripped from me before I could realize they weren't important anymore.

It was like that everywhere though, so I didn't dwell upon it any more than the next kid, simply doing my best to grow up as fast as I could in a world that was suddenly a lot more serious than it should ever be.

The move to Japan was a surprise, me all of 14 years old, suddenly finding myself in a new culture, a new country. With my parents re-activated military, the choices were limited, though, and this was the best they could do with what they had to choose from.

Four years after arriving, I was as good with Japanese as I was with English, and I had myself one of the post-second-impact College Degree's to prove it. Before, apparently, colleges were longer, more relaxed, and, dare I say, superfluous. Afterwards, however, the need for Gentlemen, while necessary, wasn't something humanity could afford to spend 3 years on, and so the well-rounded graduates were replaced with the broad-focused specialists.

It was at the Graduation Ceremony that I realized, for the first time, that I was free to continue as I saw fit. A BA in English, and a BS in Psych (I'd started early) and nowhere to go next. Employment was the most obvious choice, but where?

Glancing around, I shifted my gaze from gaudy booth to gaudy booth, until I found myself staring at an out-of-the-way table that seemed almost pathetic compared to those immediately surrounding it. Curious as to what a table like that could offer in terms of employment, I made my way through the crowd, finally pulling up to a stop and staring down at the flyers available.

"Are you interested in a position?" the overly-happy-looking woman behind the table asked. She was wearing sunglasses when I had approached, but now she reached up to take them off, exposing a pair of friendly brown eyes. Purple-black hair surrounded the rest of her attractive face, and it took a moment for me to glance back at the table before responding.

"Actually... I'm not even sure which company this is," I muttered, frowning slightly at the generic "Want a job that offers a challenge..." and other standard-fare lines displayed. The woman frowned, then stood up, leaning over the table and staring down at the front, where most employers hung their company names.

"Son of a bitch! They stole it again!"

I blinked at that. I was no stranger to profanity, but this wasn't the best way to get employees... at least, not the conservative ones. The woman collapsed back in her chair, then glanced up at me, the smile no longer quite so fake, merely weary.

"This is the table for NERV, a new multi-jurisdictional international peacekeeping force with ties to the UN."

Quirking a brow at that, I subtly nodded, impressed that she'd managed to say all that in one breath. NERV was in the news here and there, but relatively low-key, from what I'd been able to see or hear.

"Well, what is it you do at NERV?" I asked, wondering why the UN would establish something quite so vague. Of course, it was still the UN, so _purpose_ often continued to fall to the wayside when plans were carried out. Some things never change, I suppose.

"What you do depends on what you're hired for," the woman responded, before grabbing a briefcase from the ground beside her and opening it up. Handing me a piece of paper from inside, which I realized with a frown was an application, the woman quickly put the case away, before smiling up at me.

"I'm supposed to screen people before offering those, but you're the first person to stop by and say more than 'no thanks,' so I thought I'd give you one."

Unsure whether or not she meant to insult me, was trying to compliment me, or was just inept at conversing in general, I smiled and thanked her, quickly filling out the application and returning it to her.

"Thank you, Miss...?" I prompted, holding my hand out to shake hers.

"Katsuragi. Lieutenant Katsuragi," she replied, smiling genuinely for the first time as she shook my hand.

"Daniel Kerrigan," I replied, wondering if I should bother trying to get my name stuck in her head. After a moment, however, there was something else I was wondering about.

"Well then, Lieutenant, I guess I'll be on my way," I said, wondering when she'd let my hand go. When she failed to, I tried again, "err... you'll know where to reach me, if you need me," still shaking.

"...can I have my hand back?"

"Oh! I'm sorry. I totally.." about this time she realized she was _still_ shaking it, and let go, her words trailing off into an embarrassed chuckle. Waving bye to her, I quickly made my way over to the tables on the far side of the field, and put the last 10 minutes of odd-ness out of my head.

Two months later, I was sitting in my little efficiency, wondering just how bad a career waiting tables could be, when the phone rang.

"Hello; is a Mr... Daniel Kerrigan there?" a faintly-familiar voice asked.

Wondering who it was, I replied: "speaking."

"Hey! It's Misato!"

"..." I was fairly certain I didn't know any Misato's, "congratulations?" I said, hesitantly, unsure what, exactly, this woman was expecting.

"Con... Oh! It's Lieutenant Katsuragi. From NERV," she clarified.

"Oh... OH! Oh, geeze, I'm sorry," I said feeling stupid, despite the fault not really being my own.

Misato had apparently had me on speaker phone, because someone else started laughing, a moment before there was a click followed by the slightly more clear, "just ignore her."

"... Okay." I replied, unsure who the 'her' was, yet.

"Right, so, anyway, this is Lieutenant Katsuragi, and I was just calling to let you know that the paperwork has all gone through, and to let you know where to go for orientation and training."

"... Training? I didn't even specify what position I wanted!"

"You mean... you don't want the job?" the Lieutenant asked, seriously.

Rolling my eyes, and glad she couldn't see me, I responded, "Want it? I don't even know what it is!"

"NERV Public Affairs Officer. It's a last-minute addition to the roster, and there were others we thought of placing there, but then I remembered you and your application, which I had accidentally left in my car, and, well... You got the job."

Softly from the other end I heard the other voice say something about '-instill him with confidence,' and I silently agreed, wondering just what kind of company would place Lieutenant Katsuragi in Human Resources.

"Public Affairs Officer... you mean Public Relations?" I asked, thinking about the name.

"Same thing, but militarized."

"So it's a military organization?"

"No, it's UN-Based, so it's sort of a joint Military-Civilian Operation, personnel-wise."

"What about the civilian part?"

"Most of those positions are overseas. Besides, I was hiring for the main branch, remember?"

"Ahh... No. Must have been on that stolen sign of yours," I replied, realizing a moment later how that sounded. The Lieutenant didn't seem to notice, though.

"Well, either-or, it's a management job with benefits, competitive pay, and the latest technology."

"What kind of assurance do I have that I won't be... dismissed, or something?" I asked, the only other question I could think of at the time.

"It'll be in your contract, whether you want a four, six, or eight year commission," Katsuragi said, after repeating the question to the other person in the room with her, and waiting for a response.

I 'hmm,'-ed at that, considering what she'd said, what she hadn't said, and what it meant. Of course, underneath those thoughts was the reminder that there was, at the moment, no alternative, and that, combined with the prior description sold me on it. Besides, it was already a sure thing, right?

"Okay... what do I do?"

After receiving instructions, I thanked her and hung up, wondering what I'd just agreed to, and what the next few years of my life had in store for me.

Training was, as I'd guessed, militant in nature, borrowing routines from armies around the world and then toned down for civilians. Being of average health, it was easy enough to get into shape and finish around the third in my class, which was a fresh change. Not that I'd been close to failing college or high school or anything, but slightly-above average wasn't something one received recognition for.

The others in training were of mixed background, though this being Japan, the amount of Japanese in the class was rather expectedly high. After three months of basic military training (including, to my surprise, weapons training) I boarded a train for Tokyo-3, a folder and a new, temporary ID Card in one arm, and a suitcase full of my clothes in the other.

Tokyo-3 was a surprisingly flat city, the central part of it looking as though there were virtually no significant terrain features anywhere. Shrugging it off to odd city planning, I turned my attention to the Skyscrapers, shining proudly in the sunlight, before leaning back in my seat and trying to fall asleep. The train, surprisingly empty, was rather quiet, and I felt myself start to drift off as the miles went by outside.

A few minutes later, I felt the train begin to slow, moments before the driver made the generic Tokyo-3 announcement. Gathering my things, which were all sitting beside me on the bench, I got off the train, and stepped out of the station a moment later, glancing around the sparsely-populated streets and wondering where my promised ride was.

I was just about to start walking and hoping I'd go in the right direction when a white sports car screeched to a halt nearby. When Lieutenant Katsuragi stepped out, I briefly wondered whether or not I could make it back to the train. Sadly, at that moment I heard the train pull away, quickly accelerating around a bend and out of sight.

"Long time no see!" she said, waving.

"I.. yeah. So, you're my ride?" I asked, making my way towards her car.

"I am! Is that everything?" She asked, staring at my bag. I nodded, tossing it into her back seat before climbing into the passenger seat.

"Well, first, here, some last minute changes," she said, thrusting a much larger folder in my face, which I took with a frown.

"Last minute changes? Or last minute additions?"

"Last minute changes. Our Funding was reduced, so we had to- Don't worry!" She responded when she saw the look of horror on my face, "You're still a Second Lieutenant, and at NERV, for the next 8 years. We just- stupidly- redid the Public Relations department."

"Oh? Didn't you call me because you redid it, before?" I asked, surprised and still worried.

"Well, yes, but this new system has the Operations Director handle most of the PR paperwork."

"Sucks for the Ops. Director then. Does this mean I'm just doing the face-to-face work, then?"

Misato glared at me, "Yes... it _does_ suck for me... fortunately, the new addition came with a promotion, Lieutenant, and, for the time being, an aide."

" ..." Ahh... And I turned down a career waiting tables for this. Feeling my cheeks flush, I apologized.

Misato sighed, glanced out the window for a moment, then back at the road, "Don't worry about it. You didn't know. Just don't let it happen again."

"Yes, Captain!"

"And don't get smart, either."

"No, Captain!"

Misato rolled her eyes, and continued driving.

I was only the Captain's Aide for a year, before being given a miniscule Internal Affairs department of my own to run. Meanwhile, Tokyo-3 grew downward, something I found out about my first week.

"That- That's... What is that?" I asked, staring out the window at the insane view outside. Underneath Tokyo-3, where I expected to find a lot of packed dirt, lay an enormous open area, complete with trees, artificial sunlight, and a lake. The only structure visible on the actual surface of the planet was a large Pyramid positioned alongside the lake.

Above lay the underside of Tokyo-3, a patchwork or girders and beams that flashed as construction workers finished adding the 'skin' to the underside. Staring at the protruding skyscrapers above, I blinked in the realistic lighting, then turned to Misato, who was staring appreciatively out the window, herself.

"It's a GeoFront."

"A what?"

"A... well.. I don't really know where the name came from," She said, hesitantly, a moment before shrugging it off.

"You mean to tell me NERV built all this?"

"Sort of. Some of it was here already, and NERV had help.. but for the most part, Yeah."

"... And yet you only had that one shitty little table at my graduation..." I mused, wondering how many billions of dollars it cost to buy this much _land_... and the miles upon miles of scaffolding to hold up an entire city.. artificial city, even, had to cost... Leaning heavily on the wall, I closed my eyes and waited for the flurry of mental activity to die down.

"So what do you think?" Misato asked, when I turned to look out the window again."

"... how exactly do property taxes work down here?"

After that, I quickly grew accustomed to the weirdness of Tokyo-3, including the rising/falling buildings.

After moving to Internal Affairs, and making a name for myself by stopping a group of personnel using NERV delivery shipments to traffic drugs (including one of my own officers), I found myself on my way up to see the Commander, Gendo Ikari in his office.

Stepping before the doors, I knocked firmly, wondering whether or not the Commander was as bad as everyone said he was. The door opening silently gave me little time to contemplate it however, and I made my way inside, surprised to find it so dark.

"Lieutenant Kerrigan, reporting as ordered, sir." I said, standing attentively before his desk. Wondering idly what the significance of the symbol his office shone with was, I glanced at the man standing behind him for a moment before recognizing the Sub-Commander.

"Your performance in Internal Affairs has not gone unnoticed. Good job," the Commander said, suddenly. His tone didn't exactly match his words, but I wasn't exactly in a position to point that out. In fact, sitting at his desk, his hands clasped in front of his face, I wondered whether or not he really knew anything about me _or_ what I had done.

"Your performance record at NERV has been updated accordingly," he continued, almost, but not quite abruptly. Before he could say more, however, the door opened behind me, and someone stepped into the room.

Glancing over my shoulder, I spotted a young girl, around 11 or so, with blue hair and red eyes. She glanced at me once, then looked away, dismissing me. Not particularly bothered by the write off, I turned back to the Commander, who was looking directly at me.

"Rei, Lieutenant Kerrigan here has done a good job here at NERV." I refrained from quirking my brow or blinking, but I'm sure the surprise was still visible as Gendo's voice shifted to something almost room-temperature.

"You wanted to speak with me, Commander?" The girl, Rei, asked, ignoring me and the Commander's praise.

"In a moment, Rei. Let me finish with the Lieutenant."

"Yes sir."

Gendo's gaze shifted back to me, and the temperature in the room dropped again.

"You've attracted attention, whether you like it or not, Lieutenant. See that you maintain that level of performance. Dismissed."

Saluting, I spun and left the room, the door closing behind me.

The next few months went by smoothly, nobody acting up within NERV to the point of raising any red flags in IA, and after another year as the Internal Affairs manager, I received a slight pay raise, and a promotion to First Lieutenant.

I didn't see Misato around much, but we talked on occasion whenever we saw each other, and one evening, while searching for a decent bar, we ran into each other at her favorite little watering hole.

It quickly became apparent that she enjoyed drinking as much as she enjoyed driving, as she tended to approach both the same way; with an utter disregard for her health, or that of those around her. Still, she was amiable and friendly, and while we never became more than just good friends, we managed to meet up at random times to have a drink and tell each other about the mundane happenings at work. Or, really, we talked about those that we were cleared to tell each other about.

Through her, one evening over a drink, I met her friend, Dr. Ritsuko Akagi.

"Daniel, this is my friend, Rit-chan," Misato said, motioning towards an attractive (if older) blonde with the beer in her hand. On closer inspection, it looked like she bleached, but it was a rather effective job. At least it looked somewhat natural.

"Dr. Akagi, Head Technician, Project E Director," the woman said, glancing at my NERV uniform before glaring at Misato. Turning back to me, she smiled as she shook my hand, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Ahh..." I opened my mouth to ask, but then grinned, "Well, I'd ask what Project E is, but you know what they say..."

"If you have to ask, you aren't cleared for it," the Doctor said, nodding but grinning slightly. This time the mirth went to her eyes.

Nodding back, I took another sip of my Long Island Iced Tea, glad someone in this technologically-inclined (but geographically flat) city could mix such a thing.

"You know, Rits'ko, theoretically, everything at NERV is available to the public," Misato said, glancing at me then Dr. Akagi before taking another sip of her beer.

"Misato.." Dr. Akagi growled.

Misato glanced at her, then shrugged, "I'm not saying anything.. just pointing out a fact."

"So!" I said, changing the subject, "Doctor of what, exactly?" I asked, trying my best to turn it into a sincere question.

"Computer Science, General Medicine, Genetics...Whatever I feel like calling it at the time."

"...Oh?" I asked, wondering how that worked.

"I've got enough schooling and experience to match any doctor at anything I specialize in, but I never finished the courses except for General Medicine. So I _am_ a Doctor, but the job covers more than Medicine, so my Doctorate sometimes shifts so that I retain authority."

"A dynamic doctorate." I said, summing it up.

Ritsuko smiled, "as good a description as any. Do you have any college?"

"Psych and English. Both are Bachelor's Degrees, though," I responded, feeling somewhat pathetic next to the Dynamic Doctor. Not that I should feel that way, now that I knew the truth of the title.

"Not bad... What made you chose those two? They don't exactly go hand-in-hand, if you know what I mean."

I shrugged, "Well, English being my first language, and me being at a Japanese University, I didn't have to bust my butt much to ace those classes. And Psych, well... It's kind of dumb, really."

"Ohh! An embarrassing story!" Misato squealed, scooting closer.

Dr. Akagi turned to glare, earning her a derisive snort for her efforts, then turned back to me, rolling her eyes, "Ignore her. Continue, please."

"Well, When I was a kid, I used to end up in the middle of a lot of fights, and managed to talk the two parties down a few times. Someone said I'd make a good child shrink, and I always liked the way that sounded, so..."

"So you went to college because you overheard someone talking about you?"

I shrugged, "It's not like I got _that_ specialized or anything. Besides, for a while, the need to talk to people was pretty high, what with the low birth-rates and.. well…" I trailed off, not really wanting to bring up Second impact. "Anyway, the need has trailed off some, but it's still there. I can get certified to council people if I wanted to, or I could go back for specialization."

"Are you going to?" Misato asked, peering at me from her resting place on the bar.

"I don't know. I _am _good with kids, but here, it's kind of pointless. I figure, at the end of my eight years... in five years and some change, now, I'll sign back on with NERV, unless something better comes along."

"Such as?" Dr. Akagi asked, frowning.

"No clue," I said, finishing off my drink. Misato ordered me another one, and I wondered just how much more than me the Captain made.

"So, if you're good with children, have you met Rei?"

"Blue Hair, Red Eyes?" I asked, remembering the kid from my brief meeting with Commander Ikari.

Dr. Akagi nodded, "That's the one. Your thoughts?"

"As?"

"A possible Child Psychologist?" She replied, frowning at the drink in my hand.

"No clue. I saw her for all of twenty seconds in Commander Ikari's office about a year ago. I only remember her because that entire meeting was odd enough to remain memorable."

"Hmm, I'll have to arrange for you two to meet. I'd love to hear your opinion of her," Ritsuko said, smirking. I shrugged, glancing down at my drink, before tossing it back at once.

"Well, if you need me, you know where to find me. The broom closet labeled Internal Affairs Manager." I turned to Misato, who was staring at us from the bar-top, where she was currently resting her head, "Misato, once again, thank you for the job, and the company this evening."

I turned to Dr. Akagi, "Doctor, it was nice meeting you."

"Likewise," she responded. This time her smile seemed a little more genuine.

Misato and I continued to run into each other at the bar on occasion, Dr. Akagi randomly joining us as well, until one evening, about a year and a half later, the faux-blonde sat down to join us at the bar, looking particularly disheveled.

"Something wrong, doctor?" I asked.

"You could say that..." She replied, ordering a rather potent drink.

"Talk about it?" I asked, sipping my soda.

"Yes... No. ... What's your clearance?" She asked, looking at me for a moment.

"TS... I have to, to be able to read suspects mail without having censors with a higher clearance level than me," I explained.

"Well, you've got enough, but you're in the wrong department. Think you could handle a new job?"

"What, you mean-" I started, loudly.

Ritsuko shook her head, realizing before I finished what I was going to say, "no, no, nothing like that. I meant moving into _my_ area of influence."

"You want me to change jobs just so you can tell me what's wrong?" I asked, trying to think of something that could be bad enough to warrant this.

"Not really, no. It's just a benefit.. I've been looking for someone to handle this for a while now, and I think you might do well at it."

"Ooh! Is this that thing you've been telling me about?" Misato asked, joining us. "Sorry I'm late, Rit-chan."

"Yes, yes it is," Dr. Akagi said, before turning to me, "Pretty soon, we'll be getting a second pilot, and he's going to need a place to stay."

"... Can't NERV rent him an apartment? They did for me," I asked, wondering what the hell was going on.

"The pilot is only fourteen, Daniel," Dr. Akagi said.

"... Ohhh..." I mumbled, looking at our reflections in the window, "Does NERV typically hire fourteen-year-olds to pilot... err... what does he pilot?" I asked, wondering what would require someone so young. A miniature-plane?

"Well..." Misato said, looking at Ritsuko. Dr. Akagi smirked, "We can't say, unless you accept."

"That's kind of.. Wrong," I mumbled, finishing off my soda, and ordering something a little stronger.

"So, what do you say?" Dr. Akagi asked.

"Tell me a little more about this job."

"You'll be a guardian of sorts to the kid. You'll report directly to us, the Commanders, or whoever we leave in charge, though on paper, you'll report to the Operations Director."

"... Misato," I deadpanned.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Misato grumbled.

"Not at all, Captain!" I said, smirking.

Ritsuko shrugged, "like I said, me, Misato, Commander Ikari, or Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki are your only real superiors, if you take this assignment. You'll also have command over a team from Section Two, and a pay increase to ensure you keep the pilot and yourself in good health."

"Well... I could use a new TV," I said, smirking. Glancing at the window again, but this time at the skyline outside, I took a sip, then nodded, " I'll do it."

"Great. Now let's go over to our table so I can tell you about today," Ritsuko said, standing up with her drink.

"So, what happened today?" I asked once were all seated.

"Did you hear any alarms or loud noises earlier?" Ritsuko responded, a question for a question.

"Hmm.. around two? I heard about one, but it wasn't in my section of NERV. Why? Was that you?"

"Not me, but it has to do with the problem. Unit 00 went berserk during an activation test, today. The pilot was wounded, the unit encased in a ton of bakelite, and the testing chamber was decimated. It'll take months to clear up."

I hummed thoughtfully about that, nodding as she spoke. Finally, "you know... I'd probably be a bit more sympathetic if I knew what was being piloted, what an activation test was, and..." I trailed off. I was about to ask who the pilot was, since Ritsuko had made it abundantly clear that the second pilot wasn't here yet, and if he was only 14...

"Rei's the pilot?" I asked, finally.

"Good to know you can think on your feet," Ritsuko replied nonchalantly, then glanced at the chair I was sitting in, "figuratively speaking, of course."

"How is she?" I asked, ignoring the comment.

"Rei? She was hurt pretty badly... I'm not sure how long it will take her to recover."

"That's... horrible," I said, staring down at my drink, "what kind of machine requires a fourteen year-old to pilot it? And has the potential to go berserk?"

"Eva Unit 00. I... you'll find out more tomorrow."

"Rei's going to be okay, though, right?" Misato asked, concern written all over her face.

"She should pull through... can we concentrate on the bigger picture here, please?" Ritsuko said, almost dismissively. I was about to ask just how she could write off a kid so easily when I stopped to consider why this would be troubling her.

"You think it's your fault," I stated, bluntly. The way she seemed to collapse a little more verified that guess, and I suddenly felt like the world's biggest ass.

"Don't beat yourself up about it, Doc- Ritsuko," I said, lamely.

"Yeah, Rit-chan, these things happen. Even if it is your-" whatever Misato was about to say ended in a pained squeal as I kicked her under the table. Quickly picking up where she left off, I hastily amended, "-project, nothing goes perfect one-hundred percent of the time. I'm sure you did everything you could before, during, and after to ensure the problems were minimalized."

"-still wasn't enough," she mumbled.

"Ritsuko, you're looking at this the wrong way, I think. Yes, the test failed-"

"-rather spectacularly, I'd say," she interjected.

"-even so," I continued, "who said it was your fault?"

"I did!" she said loudly, glaring at me.

I just nodded, "and that's the problem. Whatever this Unit 00 thing is, whatever an activation test entails, even knowing the 'ins,' 'outs,' and 'everything-in-betweens,' things happen. The fault doesn't always lie with the person in charge."

"He's right, Ritsuko. And there's still Unit 01," Misato said, patting her friend on the back, "_and_ the new pilot," she added after a moment's thought.

"You know how unlikely Unit 01's chances of activation are," the doctor said, staring down at the ground.

"I'm sure with you at the help, they're not as bas as they could be," I offered hesitantly. I still wasn't sure what they were talking about, and while I was curious, now wasn't the time to pry.

"He's right. If anyone can get it to work, it's you Ritsuko," Misato said encouragingly.

".. I don't know.." she replied, still sounding uncertain.

"Come on, where's the young woman with the dynamic doctorate Misato introduced me to all those drinks ago?" I asked.

"I'm not that easily flattered, Mr. Kerrigan," Ritsuko said, though she didn't seem as downtrodden as she had before.

I shrugged, "not the plan, actually. And you may be older than me, but not by all that much... and _I_ don't feel particularly old, yet, so it's relatively true."

"My, what a convincing argument."

I shrugged and finished off my drink. Glancing at the clock, then the two sitting across from me, I set down enough money to cover the drink and tip, before climbing to my feet.

"I'm heading out.. you two take care, now," I said before turning to leave. Then I thought of something, "what room is Rei in?" I asked. Knowing NERV's Medical Facilities were world-class, it was safe to assume she was somewhere within the hospital-like area of Tokyo-3.

"Why? Planning on getting her some flowers?"

"Yeah, and a get well soon card," I replied. Misato nodded at that, and I waited, standing halfway to the door in the lightly crowded bar as Dr. Akagi seemed to think about it.

"...well?" I said, when it became clear no answer was forthcoming.

"17-B," the pseudo-blonde said, sounding almost unhappy at the prospect. Chalking that up to the accident that put the kid there in the first place, I nodded and left.

The next morning, I stopped by a drugstore on my way to work and grabbed a get well soon card and a handful of flowers, before heading down towards the Medical Facilities.

The 15th level was as far as I got before reaching a desk, behind which a woman dressed like a nurse sat, and persisted in detaining me.

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant, no unauthorized personnel are allowed past this level. Are you certain the patient you're looking for in here?"

"Well, Dr. Akagi seemed to think so last night," I responded, "You know, blue-ish hair, reddish eyes, a kid, goes by the name of Rei?"

"Sir, dropping names and sarcasm do not substitute for proper authorization," the nurse responded, frowning at me. I rolled my eyes, hardly believing the way this conversation was going. Suddenly the woman stood, the look on her face surprised and almost mollified. She quickly reached over and opened the door to the elevator, and I blinked at the sudden turn around in her attitude.

Then I realized she was looking behind me. Turning around, I almost dropped the vase of flowers when I realized Gendo Ikari, was standing three feet away and staring at me almost expectantly. Finally, "after you, Lieutenant," he said, flicking his gaze at the nurse briefly before turning back to me.

"... yes sir," I said, quickly entering the small lobby and pressing the down button. That the floor numbers grew as you went down was something I'd quickly grown accustomed to in Tokyo-3.

The door to the reception area slid shut with a hiss, and I did my best to remain calm with the Supreme Commander standing so closely. Finally, the doors opened, and we stepped into the elevator, stepping out a moment later to silently walk to the door to room 17-B.

Watching the commander out of the corner of my eye, I opened the door, somehow not surprised that he followed me into the room. Then my attention went to the prone figure on the bed, partially hidden by an Oxygen tent.

"Holy shit," I mumbled, Commander Ikari utterly ignored as I set the flowers and card down on the room's table. Standing over the bed as close as I could, I stared down at the comatose child and wondered again what the hell Unit 00 was, and how it could cause this much damage. One eye was covered by padding held in place by gauze, and the girl's arm was immobilized in a cast, while her chest was completely wrapped tightly, as if she'd snapped a few ribs. In various places blood stains in the gauze peeked out, the bright red testament to the freshness of the wounds.

Glancing up, I realized the IV was full of blood, apparently replacing whatever she lost as her body slowly healed, and a biohazardous waste bin half-full with empty packets of blood.

Finally remember I wasn't alone, and wondering just how an encouraging speech would sound to the Commander, I stepped back, again wondering what could cause such injuries. Even the skin I could see looked unhealthy, the pale flesh mottled and bruised almost everywhere it could be seen.

"Your concern for the First Children's well-being is irrelevant," the commander suddenly said, breaking the silence that had been dominated by the constant beeping of an EKG and the steady hiss of oxygen.

"First chil- irrelevant?" I asked, too shocked to be angry. The Commander turned to look at me, his expression never changing, and for a moment I wondered if he intended to stare me down. Finally, "irrelevant. However, it is not totally unexpected."

"Ahh.." I nodded, still not sure what to make of that. When his attention turned back to Rei, I glanced down at her, then at the table I'd placed the card and flowers for a moment, before grabbing the card.

"Would you like to sign the card, sir?" I asked, holding it and a pen I'd found on the table out to him. He didn't start, but I got the distinct feeling my presence had somehow surprised him. Glancing at the card, then at me, he silently took it, quickly scrawling his signature on it before handing both back.

Staring down at the injured child once more, I sighed, then turned to leave.

"Lieutenant, be in my office at 1500," Ikari said, leaving no room for argument.

"Yes, sir," I said, slipping out the door.

Making my way quickly back to the office, and ignoring the cold gaze the receptionist gave me as I walked by her on my way out, I quickly made my way to my office.

".. this is new," I mumbled, when I reached the door to the small room in which I managed to work. Instead of my small desk, and few amenities, I found myself staring at a barren room, nothing remaining of my office supplies or personal decorations.

"There you are!" someone said from down the hall. Turning, I saw a young man approaching, and grinned when I realized who he was.

"Hyuga?"

"... Kerrigan?" Makoto asked, the surprise on his face mirroring my own.

"I didn't realize you were the transfer. How've you been? It's been, what? Four years, now?"

"Something like that," I replied, suddenly feeling bad that I hadn't kept in touch whatsoever over the years. We had been friends in Training, but somehow, with the move to Tokyo-3, and the subsequent career juggling, I had never kept in touch. That he still remembered me at all was surprising in and of itself.

"Well, it's good to see you again. Come on, Dr. Akagi told us to send you to see her when you arrived, and I don't feel like getting on her bad side," he said, heading towards Central Dogma.

"Umm... do you know where all my stuff is?" I asked, glancing back at the empty room. Makoto stuck his head in the room for a moment, then nodded, "I was just coming back to make sure we'd gotten everything. Your stuff's been moved to your new office space in Captain Katsuragi's office.

"Err, I'm sharing an office with her?" I asked, wondering just what that would entail.

"She rarely uses it, so you'll be alone most of the time... I think... Actually, what _is_ your job?"

"I was hoping you could tell me. I was managing Internal Affairs, but this new job... well, I wasn't even told what the title was."

"Sounds like a security clearance issue," Hyuga said, nodding as if it explained everything.

"Departmentalized access?" I asked, realizing as I said it that that had to be the case, considering what Dr. Akagi had said last night. Stepping onto an elevator after him, I listened as he continued.

"Yeah. Don't ask why, though, Shigeru's still getting paperwork on it, though I think most of those are reminders that music is to be left at home."

"Oh? So what happened to my radio?" I asked as the elevator stopped to let someone else on.

"Probably sitting on your doorstep," Dr. Akagi said, joining us.

"Doctor," I said, nodding at her.

"Come with me," she said after the elevator ground to a halt, "Hyuga, you can go back to the bridge. Thanks for finding him."

"No problem, doctor," Makoto said, before disappearing down a hallway at a quick walk. Following Ritsuko, we quickly made our way to a rather large office in which my desk sat, looking untouched, and across from another desk, this one covered with a few inches of paperwork.

"Here's your new office," she said, not bothering to point out my desk. On it, I spotted a new nameplate, under which my new title shone in the fluorescent lighting, 'Critical Personnel Management.'

Reading it aloud, I turned to look at Dr. Akagi questioningly.

"It's a fancy way of saying Pilot Caretaker. Despite the title, you're responsible for the Pilot alone."

"Understood," I said, glancing at the clock. ninety minutes until 1500.

"Somewhere to be?" the head technician asked as she caught my glance.

I turned to her, "I ran into Commander Ikari in the Medical area, and he said to meet him in his office at three."

"Oh," she said, sounding surprised. Turning to look at the clock herself, she sighed, "We'll have to continue the tour after that, then."

She stepped over to Misato's desk and started rummaging through the papers, mumbling under her breath as she did so, until she pulled out a thick folder with numerous red tags indicating an abundance of Top Secret papers within. Handing the folder to me, she smirked, "enjoy. This is your welcome packet. I'll see you after your meeting with the Commander."

Staring at her as she left, I shrugged, and slid into my chair, quickly flipping past the warnings and reminders that the material within was classified (by who?) and started skimming the basics of Project E.

Ten minutes until my meeting, I set the folder down and rubbed my eyes, wondering if the last hour or so had really been spent reading... _that._

Giant Robots, Angels, a coming war, and the requirement for fourteen-year-old pilots blurred together in my mind as I made my way towards Commander Ikari's office, the walk much shorter now that I was practically down the hall from him, as opposed to being a mile or so above and away.

Thinking back to what I'd read, I wondered what any random civilian would think of all this. Designed to combat the threat Angels posed to Mankind, NERV had been created from the remains of the earlier Gehirn institution to develop a counter-weapon. Although the file hadn't gone into detail as to how Gehirn and NERV knew that the Angels were gigantic, or they were coming, was not lost on me, but I could shrug that off as more departmentalization coming forth. As it was, however, my role at NERV was now a sort of surrogate-parent to one of the few people capable of piloting an Evangelion, NERV's weapon.

A hastily-scrawled note from Dr. Akagi had explained the rareness of the gene enabling certain individuals the ability to pilot, and how its appearance (and subsequent disappearance) could only be attributed to Second Impact. Considering that as I paused outside the door to straighten my uniform, I wondered if the Meteorite that had caused Second Impact had, in fact, been the Angels arriving.

Entering the office with seconds to spare, I stopped in front of the desk and snapped to attention, wondering what, exactly, I was here for, but knowing better than to ask.

"Effective immediately you are relieved of your position as Internal Affairs Manager, and are now NERV's Critical Personnel Manager. Your apartment, like your office, has been relocated to a more suitable location for this job, and your pay, starting with the next pay-period, will reflect this change. Do you understand your change in orders?"

"Yes sir."

"Any questions?"

"No, sir." I said, surprised that he was asking me. I couldn't ask that, though.

"Very well. I said at our last meeting here that you had attracted attention. Since then, you've reinforced my belief that you are a strong, if minor, contributor to NERV. For that reason, I am allowing you to take this position, despite the recommendation that I chose someone from a closer department and higher position."

"Understood, sir," I said, feeling vaguely pleased with myself.

"Do you? Know this: your job goes against my personal decisions, and the only reason the position exists is because it has been forced upon me by higher forces. Do not give me a reason to effectively argue for its dissolution."

"Understood," I said, suddenly feeling much less pleased.

"Good. The Third Children will be arriving in a little under two-week's time, barring any more unforeseen... deviations. Until then, prepare yourself and your lodgings as best you can, and I will see you again before you go to receive him."

"Yes, sir," I said, feeling somewhat annoyed at my broken-record-like appearance.

"The Pilot's name is Shinji Ikari. Do what research you like to ensure he has a good reason to stay here in Tokyo-3 once he arrives. You are dismissed."

"... I.. Yes sir,' I said, surprise readily apparent on my face. Turning, I left the office, pausing outside the boors for a moment before heading slowly back to my office.

Commander Ikari was entrusting me with taking care of his son? I should have asked why he wasn't going to be staying with him, or, more importantly, why he wasn't living with Gendo in the first place. Then again, I thought, remembering how officious the Commander always seemed to be, the decisions may have been for the better.

Arriving back in the office, I blinked at the sudden increase of people, and again as Misato shouted "surprise!" before throwing a bunch of shredded paper at me.

A moment later I was greeted by two new faces, as well as the earlier-mentioned Misato, and a rather un-festive-looking Dr. Akagi, and Makoto, who stood beside the two new faces, a Shigeru Aoba, and a Maya Ibuki.

"So, what's the occasion?" I asked, grabbing a soda from the tiny cooler sitting in the corner.

"Well, officially or unofficially?" Misato asked.

"Both?" I responded, unsure what the difference would be, but certain the captain could find one.

"Well, officially, it's for you, of course. Celebrating your move in, and the final staff position in this department being filled."

"Technical and Operations are the same department?" I asked, frowning.

"No," Ibuki said, smiling, "we all work directly with the Eva's."

"Oh," I replied, nodding slowly, "Tech is in charge of units and equipment, and Ops runs personnel and the sorties?"

"Got it in one," Shigeru said, smirking.

"So... unofficially?" I asked, turning back to Misato, who was looking warily at a can of soda, but hadn't opened it yet.

"Well, we're all kind of new here, so this is kind of for all of us."

"But," I said, looking at Makoto, Ritsuko, and Misato, who I knew had been here at least as long as I had, "we've all been here for four years at least."

"You've been up near the surface doing Internal Affairs work, Ibuki, Aoba, and Makoto have been training at our Matsushiro Testing Facility, and Captain Katsuragi's been training with the others at MTF as well," Dr. Akagi stated.

"I did a couple jobs at our other NERV facilities, too," Misato added helpfully.

"Ahh.." I said, wondering if anyone besides Dr. Akagi knew their way around Central Dogma yet.

"Oh! Before I forget, here," Misato said, handing me a cellular phone.

"Is this my moving-in gift?" I asked, pocketing it.

"It's NERV's way of contacting us in case there's an emergency," Makoto said, the others pulling their phones out for a second to prove that they were indeed equipped as such.

"So now what?" I asked, after a few minutes in which everyone divided into groups (the Bridge Techs, Misato and Ritsuko, and me).

"Well, our lunch break is almost up, so we head back to the Bridge, and then I give you that tour," Dr. Akagi said, to which everyone seemed to deflate a little.

Tagging along with the Technicians as they headed deeper into Central Dogma with Ritsuko in the lead, I wondered just what I would do in the event of an emergency.

After a few corners, we came to a large, sturdy-looking door which Ritsuko opened with a swipe of her card. The Technicians had headed down a different corridor, mentioning that we'd meet again soon, and so it was just the doctor and I at the moment.

Inside, under a multitude of floodlights, sat a purple monstrosity that could only be one of the Evangelion Units NERV worked so hard to keep secret. That they had, as far as I could tell, succeeded, was surprising, considering what little data I'd read indicated that these were the reason NERV existed. Of course, even that tidbit of information had been largely glossed over, and only my recent experience reading between the lines had helped me understand that point.

Still, staring into the dark cavities where eyes would typically be found, I was impressed with its appearance, and said as much to which Dr. Akagi merely nodded.

The tour moved from there to the Bridge, upon which Makoto, Aoba, and Maya would work with Misato and Ritsuko for the most part, under the direct supervision of the Commanders.

"So, where will I sit?" I asked, wondering how the three chairs present were supposed to accommodate eight people.

"Umm..." Misato said blankly, apparently not expecting that question.

"Actually, where will anyone sit? Or do the Tech's work standing up?" I asked, staring at the three, who all sat at consoles they were most likely to have trained on.

"That's..."

"Procuring furnishings for this facility has been an ongoing battle. NERV has already put one manufacturer into the black for years to come, and another is still behind schedule in delivering everything we've requested. Chairs are one of the many things we're short on. Hence those," Dr. Akagi said, nodding to the corner, where a half-dozen folding chairs were leaning against the wall. Wincing at the thought of sitting in a chair like that for hours on end, I glanced at the main screen dominating the far wall, and the holographic topographic map between me and said wall, and whistled.

"Does this thing get all the movie channels? Or do you have to pay for each showing?"

"Cute," Dr. Akagi said, frowning at me to let me know it wasn't. My grin faded, and I glanced at Misato, who was doing her best to hide a smile. At least someone had found it humorous.

The rest of the tour was basically a thinly-disguised attempt to teach us the primary routes to the Eva Cages, the Bridge, and our offices. Finally, the tour was finished, and we were all dismissed for the night.

The following week was somewhat hectic, involving lots of odd jobs that made little sense until I asked why I was treated like an errand boy.

"Your charge isn't here, so you have no current tasks. Therefore, you're free to be used as we see fit," Dr. Akagi said. I'd noticed she tended to act rather aloof at work, and that statement just about summed it up, considering we were on friendly-terms when not at NERV.

While not at NERV, I spent the last week preparing to look after a kid who, despite being the pilot, was apparently almost entirely undocumented. Having a NERV ID-Card helped procure a few things, but from what I'd obtained, all I knew was that he'd been living with a relative, and made decent grades in school. Not much to go by, whatsoever.

The new apartment was a two-bedroom model, fairly large, and quickly furnished with the items I'd once had to bunch up in my much-smaller efficiency. Of course, with the extra money given to me for "extraneous expenses," I procured for myself (and my charge) an exceedingly overpowered home entertainment center, managing to shave a good fraction of the price off by mentioning that it would be used by 'influential' NERV Personnel.

Two days before Shinji's arrival saw quite a few surprises at NERV. First was a meeting with Commander Ikari. This time, Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki was present, hovering behind the Commander almost like a bodyguard. After years of little-to-no interaction with the Commander, it was unnerving to find myself standing in his office once again so soon, and even more so after he started.

"Lieutenant, our plans for the Third have changed, and it will no longer be necessary for you to supervise him."

"Sir?" I asked, wondering just what this meant for me… and my new stereo.

"Captain Katsuragi has been charged with guardianship of the Third."

I blinked at that, unable to speak, when I did, I immediately knew I was out of line, but couldn't help it; "Misato? Have you ever _seen_ her apartment? It's-" I shut up when the Commander's glare became a frown.

"I'm a perfectly aware of the Captain's failings. Do not interrupt me again, Lieutenant, that is your only warning." Fuyutsuki seemed surprised at that, but said nothing, and I merely turned my gaze to the floor, "Understood sir. My apologies."

Commander Ikari ignored my apology and continued, "For the moment, your use to NERV, while not gone, has diminished." He looked like he was about to say more, when the Sub-Commander stepped forward and quietly spoke into the Commanders ear. The whole time, Ikari continued to stare at me, and I wondered whether or not I would still be working for NERV at the end of the day. Finally, Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki stepped back into his original position, and the Commander began speaking again.

"While your current status at NERV has been suspended, you are to aid Captain Katsuragi with Operations, and Dr. Akagi with Project E in whatever way they see fit to use you. If and when something becomes available for you, you will be notified. Dismissed, Lieutenant."

Snapping off a salute, I left the office unsure just what all this meant. Misato was too much of a friend to have intentionally left me jobless (the vague order only affirming that Gendo himself found me useless for the moment) and, to be blunt, too sloppy to be much of a potential guardian.

My internal quandary was cut short by the appearance of Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki, who had just stepped into the hall ahead of me and cleared his throat.

"Good afternoon, sir." I said, though it was obvious even to me that I didn't sound like it was that good.

"Follow me Lieutenant. I'd like to… expand a bit upon what the Commander said."

Unsure what exactly he meant, but hoping it would at least mean I was being kept on at NERV, I followed, eventually coming to a large office adorned with bookshelves and a desk, behind which the Sub-Commander sat. Motioning for me to sit in the chair across from him, I reluctantly did so, unsure what had happened to the typically militant atmosphere that permeated NERV.

"Before you ask, I used to be a college professor, and I prefer a more amiable environment in which to work. And until your agreed-upon date of severance, you'll continue to work here at NERV, unless you do something… dumb."

I blinked at that, before nodding slowly.

"Now, Gendo- excuse me, Commander Ikari is a very hard man to impress, yet you've apparently managed to do that. The follow-up investigation into the smuggling ring you effectively put a stop to also managed to free up a few million dollars in annual funding given directly to NERV Tokyo-3. The only reason you weren't involved with that investigation is because by the time it started, you had already done most of the hard work, and it took place in Germany."

I was stunned. I knew that I had done a good job, but apparently I'd done a lot more than even I knew. Still, while the paper-trail we'd eventually worked on had seemed somewhat skewed, I had thought the case was effectively closed. Seeing the confusion on my face, the Sub-Commander further explained.

"Your section of Internal Affairs was departmentalized, despite being given jurisdiction over most NERV activities. The information needed to disclose the fund-smuggling was behind a door you didn't have a key for. This is all beside the point, however. You managed to bring to light something that was harming this facility and the people in it by restricting our funding."

"That... makes sense. I wish someone had told me, though."

"Up until recently, the perpetrator still had a slim chance of getting away with his actions. It was best to keep everyone without a need to know from learning the who's, what's, and why's. Understand?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. As I was saying, you impressed Commander Ikari, no small feat. It was made apparent to me when he let your insubordination slide with merely a warning."

"I… understand…" I mumbled, surprised. From the way Fuyutsuki'd said that, it sounded like Commander Ikari had had men shot for lesser transgressions.

"The UN Public Relations Council discovered our plans to house the Third, Shinji Ikari, with you and stated that if a parent was unavailable, such a prominent individual should be housed with a more motherly figure. Since Gendo is currently too occupied to parent, Captain Katsuragi was chosen, in no small part due to her friendly demeanor."

"That still leaves me without a purpose, sir," I stated, factually, and a little put off by the fact that some jerk thousands of miles around the world decided the public wouldn't like me.

"Be that as it may, I have suggested an alternative that would entail the exact same task, just with another charge."

It didn't take more than a second to realize who he was talking about. "Rei?"

"The First Children is currently recuperating from her injuries, but when the recovery is completed, I think the Commander might allow you to assume guardianship."

"Who has guardianship now, sir?" I asked, wondering who'd be heartless enough to make a fourteen year-old live alone.

"Commander Ikari."

I held back the breath I knew would have gotten me in trouble and instead started choking on air.

"The Commander is Rei's Guardian?"

"Yes. Understand that Rei is just as important to NERV as Shinji, and until the delivery of the Second is confirmed, Rei is the only reserve we have. Until Shinji arrives, Rei is still our only Active Pilot."

"And she's important to the survival of Mankind, as such?" I asked, trying to grasp the situation. Two fourteen-year-old kids were supposed to fight Angels in Evas in Hand-to-Hand combat (figuratively speaking) in order to prevent Third Impact, which would basically destroy the world. I'd tried not to dwell on that when I had first read it in the papers Dr. Akagi had given me, but now, the weight of my potential assignment fully caught up with me. Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki paused for a moment before responding.

"Yes; which is why the Commander has entrusted no one else with this task. Your preparation for Shinji's arrival, including your voluntary 'extra' firearm training means you took your role as guardian and protector seriously. Section Two has reports on this, which the Commander and I have both gone over."

"I… I'm glad you approve of me taking my job seriously," I stated, frowning slightly.

"Take it deadly seriously, Lieutenant Kerrigan. If the commander approves the transfer of guardianship, your life is forfeit if Rei is placed in danger and it boils down to your life or hers. While I cannot stress the First's importance enough, understand that if Rei dies, your life is also forfeit, unless it's 100 provable that there was nothing you could have done."

"Sir? That's-"

"Impossible? When Rei is piloting, you are exempt. If you are sent away for whatever reason, and Rei is killed while not on your watch, you are exempt. If you are already dead, or incapacitated, while trying to protect Rei, and are successfully resuscitated or hospitalized, you are exempt if your actions were in her defense. Understand?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. You haven't been approved for this, and you might not be. But I've suggested as much to the Commander, and he did not dismiss the suggestion immediately. That alone is a good indication that you are a likely candidate. I've spoken with your College Professors and they agree that you are capable if properly motivated. Reading your file here backs that up and talking to you has reinforced it enough that I think you are a suitable guardian for Rei."

"Thank you sir."

"Don't thank me yet, this is still dependant upon the Commander, and whatever his decision, I will back him up either way. I've known him longer than I've known you."

"Yes sir."

"Now, at the moment, your orders dictate that you do what anyone from Project E or the Operations Officer asks of you. As the Sub-Commander, I'm telling you to go home, and report back to NERV tomorrow at noon."

I... yes sir," I said, my confusion overshadowed by understanding. I was getting the day off. Quickly saluting him, I left, and made my way towards the garage, where my new car was parked. It was actually used, but from a NERV Auction. Marked down to unbelievably low prices, the car had sat in a NERV Carpool for a couple years virtually unused, until it was declared "Obsolete." That it was already modified for Section Two's use, and therefore well armored had made it the most logical choice for driving around someone as important as the Third Children when I'd purchased it.

I briefly wondered if that had been in the reports of my preparation the Sub-Commander had alluded to, then shrugged it off as unimportant and left for home, passing Misato's little blue sports car parked near a corner. shuddering at the memories of how she drove, and hoping, for Shinji's sake, that she had passenger-side airbags (not that she'd ever gotten in an accident, but still.. it was only a matter of time) I made my way home, collapsing on the couch for a few minutes before making myself a slight lunch.

Glancing at the near-overstocked fridge and pantry, I sighed, hoping that I'd get custody of someone, before it all went bad, and wondering if anything I'd gotten for Shinji would be inappropriate for Rei. A quick check revealed that, aside from the couple sports-related magazines I'd purchased, most of what I had was okay, since I had wanted to wait until Shinji arrived before buying him hobby-specific objects. Still, Rei would probably want a few important objects to women in general, and I wondered if I should wait and see if I'll actually be granted custody before making such a purchase.

After a few minutes of deliberating, I decided to call Dr. Akagi and ask for suggestions. I'd barely met Rei, but apparently the Doctor knew her, and she could at least make some suggestions.

"Dr. Akagi speaking," She responded, after a moment of ringing.

"Hi, Dr. Akagi, this is Daniel Kerrigan. I was wondering if you knew if Rei had any special needs, and.. err.. what kind of.. uhh.. womanly-things she might need…" I mumbled lamely.

"What was that? You want to buy Rei Tampons?" the Doctor asked, loudly. I could hear the mirth in her voice, so I knew she was teasing. I just wondered who else was in the room with her… and thus, who to avoid tomorrow.

"… Yes?" I asked, quietly.

"Don't worry about it. Just don't buy any meat you aren't willing to eat yourself. The First is a vegetarian. If Commander Ikari releases her to you, I'll supply you with everything she needs aside from the obvious."

"Oh.. thanks, then, Dr. Akagi."

"I'm sure Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki told you the decision was still up in the air. I, personally, would not be appreciative if I was to receive guardianship of Rei, but you seem capable and properly concerned about the right issues, so if asked, I will inform the Commander of my thoughts on your obtaining guardianship."

"Really?" I asked, surprised.

"No. This phone call is monitored, and it'll probably make its way to the Commander's desk… but you already knew that. I won't need to say as much, since he'll read it."

"Oh.. yeah, I hadn't… well, anyway.. we still on for tonight?"

"The Poker game? I think I'm going to have to bow out, I've got a lot of work to do for tomorrow. The rest of the crew should be there, though."

"What's going on tomorrow?"

"You mean aside from Shinji Ikari arriving and all the tests I'll have to administer?" She asked, sounding almost annoyed at my naivety.

"Yeah, sorry, I'm just… It's been a crazy day."

"I won't tell you to get used to it, but.. well, they happen. I've got to go. There's a problem with the Magi that Maya and I are trying to lock down, and I need to stop by and oversee the analysis team and decide whether or not to bring Unit 00 out of Cryostasis."

"Sounds fun. I'll see you tomorrow, Dr."

She 'hmm'-ed at that and hung up. Shrugging, I hung up, wondering what to do until nine, when I'd head over to Misato's place for our weekly poker game.

The next morning I made my way to NERV with some small degree of trepidation. Last night's poker game had been somewhat subdued, with Maya and Dr. Akagi missing, but I'd managed to make enough for a full-sized lunch this afternoon.

Unfortunately, halfway down, things went to hell. My elevator stopped, and a group of Military Officers quickly joined me the rest of the way to the Command Bridge. All three looked smug and arrogant, which I'd come to regard as confused and worried from Military personnel, and I was rather happy to duck into my office and get away from the trio.

Happy, that is, until I noticed the flashing red light that sat on one of the Tactical Boards I assumed had been installed for Misato's use. Nobody had told me what it meant, but in the pit of my stomach, I knew that something bad was happening.

Glancing at the clock, then at the light, I made my way towards the Sub-Commanders office, but was stopped in the Hallway by four Section Two guards, who told me that I was not allowed to pass. I was about to explain to them that I had a prior meeting when my NERV-issued phone rang for the first time.

Remembering Misato's explanation that it was for use in an emergency, I flipped it open, and before I could say anything, an electronic recording informed me that I was to get to the Eva Cages Immediately. Glancing at the Guards one last time, I turned and made my way towards the elevators, slipping my card into the reader to access the more highly-restricted areas of NERV. When I exited the Elevator, I saw scores of orange-jump suited technicians working on the Purple Monstrosity known as Unit 01. The bay beside it was devoid of a unit, but I noticed that there were now clamps, as if for another unit, and wondered if that meant Unit 00 would be housed there. To the other side, all the bays were only partially assembled, crates and equipment spread out along the railing indicating their eventually employment in the future.

"Lieutenant Kerrigan!"

I turned around and spotted a perplexed-looking Lieutenant Ibuki waving at me with a clipboard. Making my way over to her, she shoved the clipboard at me, and I took it, as she started talking.

"Thank god, we've got to get Unit 01 ready for deployment in case the UN approves the launch, but I have to get to the Bridge. The timing today has been terrible. You're my relief."

"Relief?"

"You need to oversee Unit 01's preparations. It's all on there," she explained, waving at the clipboard, "Captain Katsuragi's going to get the Pilot now."

"But.. what the hell is going on?" I asked, somewhat agitated.

"The Magi have detected an Angel, and it's on its way here."

After that, I got to work as best I could, organizing the work teams to complete the un-checked tasks listed on the clipboard. Frowning at the few typos and a couple of transposed orders (how do you fill an entry plugs LCL tanks with LCL when it's been sealed three orders earlier?) I made my way down the list, finishing up a moment before the lights went out.

Flashlights flickered on around the room, and someone walked up to me and handed me a radio with a headset attached. Removing the one I already had on to oversee the preparations, I slipped the new one on, and was instantly assaulted with Technical Information from Lieutenant Ibuki. During a pause, I piped in, "What just happened? The power's out in the Eva-Cages."

"An N2 Mine was used against the angel. We're trying to reroute power now, Kerrigan," Makoto responded, before Maya's shout that there was an energy reading at the explosion's epicenter. I blinked at that, surprised that they would use an N2 mine at all, and at the fact that the Angel had apparently survived it. As far as weaponry went, the N2 was the king of the arsenal, as powerful as a Tactical Nuclear Device, but using Non-Nuclear (N2) explosives built up from the MOAB design.

"Understood, Kerrigan out," I said, before handing the radio back. A moment later, I heard the whine of capacitors powering up, and a few diagnostic LEDs around the room lit back up. The lights, however, remained off, as did the emergency lights. I was about to ask about that when the door to the external Cryofluid tank opened, illuminating the room for a moment before sliding shut, returning the room to near-darkness.

"It's so dark" someone said. I frowned, that had almost sounded like a child. Then the lights came back on, and I winced at their brightness as someone gasped. Looking towards the head of Unit 01, I spotted, standing before it, a young boy in a white shirt and blue pants that could only be the Third, Shinji Ikari. Flanking him were Dr. Akagi, who I'd heard get paged earlier, and Captain Katsuragi, who the page had instructed the Doctor to find.

"A face? A Giant Robot?" the boy, Shinji asked, as the dominant structure in the room was exposed. Instead of staring, he glanced at a packet of papers I recognized as a basic orientation-package, before Dr. Akagi told him that the Eva wasn't in there.

I blinked. Not only was the pilot a kid, but he apparently had no knowledge of the Eva Units whatsoever? Dr. Akagi spoke for a moment about how important Unit 01 was, and I stepped back to finish preparations for Unit 01. After quickly (and quietly) giving the final instruction listed on the checklist, I was about to inform Maya that preparations were complete when I heard the Commander's voice, which made my straighten up to attention before I realized his attention wasn't on me whatsoever.

"It's been a while," he said, staring down at Shinji from one of the Observation Areas. Beside him a number of monitors displayed the Third, who seemed less than excited to be reunited with his father.

When he gave the order to move out, Misato jumped into the conversation, apparently surprised that Unit 01 was going to be used, despite the obvious signs that we were prepping the unit for deployment.

"Rei's still injured, and Shinji's too new! It took seven months for Rei to synchronize with her Eva! It's impossible!"

"Aside from sitting in the seat, we don't expect much more out of him," Dr. Akagi stated, coldly. I would have winced at the way she spoke about the boy, but having worked with her some, I know that when the pressure was on, she tended to turn off her emotions like a switch.

Misato's further objections were cut off by the almost canned response from the Doctor about NERV's number-one priority being the elimination of Angels.

"If putting someone into the Eva who has even the slightest chance of piloting it is our only hope, then we have to do it."

Misato looked down, as Dr. Akagi pressed that point, and I sighed, wondering if they were putting on a show for the kid, or what I had missed while in here had piled on the stress. I quietly asked to Lieutenant Ibuki when I could make my way up to the bridge and sighed with relief when she told me I could make my way there now, since preparations were complete.

When Shinji and Commander Ikari started arguing, I almost paused, but decided to get to the Bridge as quickly as possible, because Maya asked me to hurry.

About halfway there, the entire structure shuddered around me, and I swallowed, suddenly realizing that NERV itself was all that stood in the way of Third Impact, and at the moment, with Shinji apparently uncooperative, we were merely delaying the inevitable.

"I hope that kid pilots the damned thing," I mumbled.

"We all do," the Lieutenant replied in an offhand-ish manner, as if pre-occupied.

"Sorry about that," I mumbled, having forgotten I was currently wearing a tactical headset and that it was live, "Status Report?"

"Eh?" was her initial response, before, "the Third has apparently decided to pilot after all. Unit 01's final launch procedures are to be conducted here. Anything else, Lieutenant?"

"Hmm.. status on the Angel?" I asked as I stepped onto the bridge and made my way over to the stack of folding chairs. Before I could take more than two steps, Maya snapped her fingers at me from her station, and pointed to the empty seat beside her, not taking her eyes off her own monitor.

"Angel has taken up position above us and is beginning its assault on Tokyo 3. It knows we're here. Automated Defense Systems have no effect, and Armor Layers are being methodically tested and penetrated."

Wondering where Hyuga (who normally sat here) was, I glanced at the Lieutenant, who shrugged at the unspoken question, a moment before Dr. Akagi and Captain Katsuragi arrived on the lift from the Eva Cages. Making a mental not to ask for my card clearance to allow me to use the lifts as well, I did my best to make sense of the information on the screen before me.

Slipping on a third headset sitting beside the console, I heard a female voice say "Filling the Entry plug," so I assumed Commander Ikari had talked Shinji into Unit 01.

"What is this?" I heard the kid ask, the sound of fluid sloshing around in the background.

Dr. Akagi leaned forward towards Ibuki's station and spoke into one of the microphones there, "Don't worry, once your lungs fill with LCL, your body will be directly oxygenated. You get used to it."

There was a strained breathing noise for a moment, then bubbles, and finally ragged breathing, though it was somewhat muffled. Finally, he muttered something about feeling sick, and I smirked as Captain Katsuragi admonished him for whining.

Over the headset, I head multiple voices talk giving reports on the Unit's connectivity with the pilot, and frowned at my monitor, wondering what I should be doing if anything. All I could see was a topographical representation of Tokyo 3, covered with red boxes filled in with 'X's.

I'd opened my mouth to ask about it, but before I could, Katsuragi shouted out "Prepare to Launch!"

The screen flickered, and a series of numbered spots on the map started flashing, a box in the lower corner listing off three as Ideal Ranged, Ideal Melee, and Intermediate.

Glancing over at Dr. Akagi, I wanted until she turned in my direction and pointed at the screen with a quirked eyebrow.

"Where's Hyuga?" she asked, moving over to my station.

"I don't know, Lieutenant Ibuki had me sit here when I arrived. Are these exit points?" I asked, pointing at the screen.

"Yes, at the moment most of the Eva's weapons haven't been loaded, go for the Ideal Melee exit point, and I'll have Aoba cover for most of Hyuga's tasks this time."

She started to move away, and I selected the Ideal Melee exit point, which flashed green, a moment before Misato shouted "Launch!"

The screen switched again, showing a rather convoluted series of paths leading to the surface, along which an indicator light displayed where Unit 01 was, and which path it was taking.

"Fast lift" I mumbled, moments before Unit 01 reached the surface. All eyes turned towards the giant monitor, which now displayed the city skyline, and Unit 01 facing the Angel, each one dominating their side of the screen.

Author's Notes: Wow. 7 months of nothingness. I bet you all thought I was dead or something. Sorry about that. I've had this fic on the backburner for the better part of a year now, and decided, finally, to finish it and put it out. So yes, this is a new fic, no, it's not a crossover OR an SI, and that makes it.. different.

And incase you were wondering, There is not going to be any Daniel/Rei pairings or anything. I know that fics that introduce new characters tend to be SI-ish, and I want to avoid getting that "Mary Sue-SI" thing going on that people put up red flags with. So I'll continue to make Daniel a dynamic growing character that does not really understand what's going on, and slowly works things out. Anyway... I've already got a bit of Chapter 2 started, so It should be forthcoming soon, I hope. Blame WoW, Star Wars Episode 3, and life in general for the lack of updates... Here's to hoping they don't continue to get in the way.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is the property of Gainax. Any profits made by writing this fic are purely intellectual.

Reis Ayanami

By: Taiteki Kagato

Chapter 2

"Shinji, concentrate on walking right now," Dr. Ritsuko Akagi said, leaning forward to talk into the microphone. Like everyone else however, her eyes were glued to the screen upon which Unit 01 stood facing the Angel, which for some reason was designated the third Angel on the smaller display before me.

Moments ago, the Evangelion unit had lurched forward as a set of clamps released its shoulders, and I wondered again why someone with absolutely no training was being put into a situation like this. Before I could say anything, everyone around me gasped as Unit 01 took an unsteady step forward. The next step, however, was even less graceful, and the Eva fell forward, landing on its face.

"Shinji? Shinji? Are you okay? Get up. Hurry!" Captain Misato Katsuragi shouted over my shoulder. Before the young pilot could get the Unit up however, the Angel made its move, grabbing Unit 01 by the head and lifted the Eva up so that its feet hung above the ground. That the Angel had done this almost effortlessly was readily apparent to everyone on the bridge.

With its free hand, the Angel grabbed Unit 01's arm and began to pull, eliciting a small alarm from my station, and a much louder one from Lieutenant Maya Ibuki's. Looking down, I saw that the Eva Unit's arm was being stressed beyond recommended levels, and intervention was recommended before it suffered severe damage.

Misato shouted at Shinji to calm down, and a quick glance at the screen Ibuki was sitting at showed me that the Pilot was apparently feeling whatever the Eva felt. Unit 01's piloting handles entirely ignored, Shinji sat in the Entry plug holding his left arm above the wrist as if trying to keep his arm in its socket.

Dr. Akagi started asking questions about the Units defenses and I turned to look at my screen for a moment before tapping the "Defense" icon, only to find that all area defenses were either disabled or offline. Apparently, however, they were talking about something else, as Lt. Ibuki and the Doctor quickly exchanged comments, before the warning tones from all consoles got louder.

Looking back up at the main screen, I watched in horror as the Angel squeezed unit 01s arm until it snapped halfway up the fore arm, then dangled limply.

"Left arm has been damaged!" Lt. Ibuki declared, somewhat redundantly. We'd all just seen it happen, after all. The screen before me said that a number of circuits had been disconnected, but I assumed Dr. Akagi would know this and kept quiet, watching the screen and dreading what the Angel would do to the Eva next.

The Angel quickly hoisted Unit 01 up by its head again and held it there as the spike on the elbow-end of its forearm lengthened and started to glow white. I heard the Captain scream for Shinji to look out, but to no avail; the spike plunged inward rapidly, apparently battering the faceplate of the Eva Unit from the palm of its hand, and a quick glance at the Lieutenant's monitor showed the pilot covering half his face with both hands as he apparently felt each and every impact.

"The front of the brain case is cracking!" Ibuki stated, obviously worried but doing her best to sound professional. Doctor Akagi was staring up at the monitor, and muttered something about the armor not lasting much longer, a moment before the ram forced its way through the Eva's head and emerging from the back, sending the Unit flying back to crash into a building.

Unit 01's entire upper body slumped to the right, a moment before a red, blood-like fluid began spraying out of both openings in its head.

The monitor before me began flashing "Emergency," as beside me Lieutenant Shigeru Aoba turned towards Dr. Akagi and told her the head had been damaged, but the extent of the damage was unknown. Someone announced that there was a problem maintaining activation, and I assumed that meant the Unit was shutting down. A second over-sized screen to the right of the bridge suddenly flickered to life with red hexagons containing the words "Emergency," a moment before switching to a series of stacked sine waves sliding away from each other.

"Status?" Captain Katsuragi shouted, obviously worried.

"The Synchrograph is reversing! Pulses are now flowing backwards!" Ibuki shouted back, and I assumed that's what the shifting pattern of red, orange, and blue sine waves meant.

The primary bridge, unlike the subsidiary bridges below, was apparently prepared for this kind of emergency, and despite the obvious worry, everyone seemed able to continue without panicking like some of the people below. Having read up on the Evangelion Project, I knew that a failure of the Evangelion to destroy an Angel before it reached Central Dogma meant the end of mankind, and I hoped there was some sort of backup plan to prevent that from happening.

"Cut the circuit! Block it" Dr. Akagi said to the Lieutenant.

"I can't! Control circuits are breaking off. It's not accepting the signal. It won't take it!" Lieutenant Ibuki replied, sounding both frustrated and worried. I couldn't blame her, I felt the same way.

"What about Shinji?" Misato asked, leaning over my shoulder again.

I looked down at my screen to give a report and blanched as I realized the status meter of the Pilot, which had been running across the bottom of the screen the entire time, was now flashing in synch with the rest of the screen, the character for "Unknown" proceeding the "Pilot Status" prompt.

"Pilot's status is currently unknown," I informed the Captain, who was once again staring at the main screen. Tapping the character brought up a detailed line graph of the pilots status. Detailed, that is, had the status been available. Currently, all lines were flat, and I frowned, wondering if our new pilot was dead, or the Unit had just ceased to broadcast the information.

"Shinji" I heard the Captain yell, and I winced, reaching for the "defense" button. However, I stopped as I realized that Tokyo 3's defenses weren't yet ready, and that screen had been rather useless so far. Moving to the "Evangelion" button, I tapped it, which displayed a series of boxes connected by black lines and numbered disconnecting from each other, somewhat like computer circuits or something. Realizing this was above and beyond my understanding, I went back to the pilot's status page, and waited for whatever orders would be issued next.

"The pilot's not responding," Aoba stated, turning to look over his shoulder at the rest of up.

"Misato!" Dr. Akagi said, turning to look at Captain Katsuragi.

The Captain muttered something to herself for a moment, before turning towards Lt. Ibuki.

"Abort the Operation! Prioritize the pilot's retrieval. Eject the entry plug!"

The lieutenant frowned, punching in a command at her keyboard a couple times before turning to look at the captain, "we can't! It's gone completely out of control!"

"That can't be!" Misato practically screeched, making me wince since she was still standing right behind me. There was a moment of silence, the alarms going off around us the only sound, as everyone contemplated that. Suddenly, a new beep from Ibuki's console got everyone's attention.

"The... the Unit has re-activated," she stated, frowning in confusion. I mirrored the expression; how could a robot turn back on after taking that much damage?

"Impossible! How could it?" Misato asked, apparently as confused as the Lieutenant and I.

".. Berserker..." Dr. Akagi mumbled, a moment before Unit 01 turned its head towards the evening sky and roared.

"What the..." I muttered, staring at the screen in shock. Suddenly the unit crouched, all unsteadiness in its movement gone, before leaping a few hundred meters, and landing on the Angel's chest in a crouch. With its good hand, it looked like it grabbed a hold of the angel's mask-like face and began tugging at it, while the angel tried to grasp it around the torso. Unit 01 gave a couple more yanks before jumping back. It landed, and slowly turned to face the Angel again.

This time, instead of leaping, Unit 01 charged, roaring once more as the Angel tried to right itself. Before it could reach, however, the unit bounced off a wall of semi-transparent orange hexagons, a barrier that hadn't been there moments ago.

"AT-Field!" Dr. Akagi cried, watching the screen much like the rest of us.

"No! As long as that's there..." Misato said, apparently talking to herself. I remember reading about the AT-Field, or Absolute Terror Field in the packet on the Eva. It was some sort of force field both the Angels and the Evangelion Units could deploy to stop almost any sort of attack.

However, I also remembered the term from my psychological studies in college. The term was used to signify the threshold at which someone's personal space was violated to the point of inducing absolute terror. It was typically attributed to people with Autism, who reacted more noticeably to a personal-space violation than normal people. How the tern had wound up here was just another odd, unanswered question.

"He can't get near the Angel!" Dr. Akagi finished for Misato.

Unit 01 stood there for a moment, flexing the hand of its broken arm for a moment, and suddenly the missing pieces of its shattered armor materialized, appearing to repair the damage done by the Angel earlier in the battle.

"The left arm regenerated!" Lt. Aoba said, sounding awed. Not that I could blame him, the documents I'd been given had mentioned nothing of an Evangelion Unit being able to do something like that.

"Incredible," Misato gasped, as Unit 01 stepped forward and reached into the core of the AT field with its fingertips and flexing, apparently trying to tear the field open. A new tone originated from Lieutenant Ibuki's panel, and she leaned forward, watching as two mirror images of graphs took up most of the screen.

"Unit 01 has deployed its own AT Field!"

The Evangelion button was flashing on my screen, and I tapped it, bringing up the same display Ibuki was currently looking at. Unit 01s field, at the top, was, I realized, not mirroring the Angel's AT field; it was canceling it out.

"It's neutralizing the phase space!" the Lieutenant added as the graphical lines merged into vertical lines, then merged towards the center.

"No... It's eroding it!" Dr. Akagi said, sounding shocked. A moment later, Unit 01 tore through the weakened AT-Field like it were a sheet of paper before stepping towards the Angel aggressively.

"It tore through that AT Field with ease..." Captain Katsuragi mumbled, sounding as shocked as Dr. Akagi had. Which was, I realized as I looked around, just as shocked as the rest of the bridge crew. Not having been briefed on what to expect (since this wasn't really my job) I was probably more surprised than the rest of them, but if they weren't screaming yet, I wouldn't screw things up by freaking out now.

Unit 01 roared again, and the Angel's Eye flashed, a moment before a stream of explosive flame shot out from the Angel, wrapping around Unit 01 and continuing down one of the streets of Tokyo 3 before branching off in three directions.

When the flames died down, Unit 01 straightened up again, apparently none the worse for wear, and lunged, grabbing the angel's arms and grabbing both forearms in one hand, before twisting, the external microphones clearly picking up the sound of the angels bones snapping. On screen, a purple ichor poured out of the injuries, as Unit 01 lifted its foot and kicked the Angel squarely in the chest, the momentum tearing the ruined forearms from the Angel as it slid back into one of Tokyo 3's skyscrapers.

The Eva tossed away the dismembered limbs, and charged, leaping towards the Angel and slamming its shoulder into its chest. Instead of stopping there, however, the entire first floor of the building shattered, as Unit 01 managed to slide the entire building from its foundation, crushing the angel between it and the sliding building as it moved down the lane.

Tapping my way back to a map of Tokyo 3, I clicked on the building on the map (which was flashing red) to see if it had been occupied. I winced when I realized it had been an apartment building, but felt some relief when the terminal informed me that sensors inside the building could not detect any people. Apparently, the city had been evacuated at the first sign of the Angels approach.

When I glanced back up at the main screen, I saw that Unit 01 had pulled the Angel away from the building, and was now straddling it as it beat the bright red core in the Angel's chest. From what the papers had said, this was the Angel's core, destroying it would destroy the Angel.

Unit 01 apparently knew this, as it tore one of the horn-like projections surrounding the core off violently, and began pounding away at the core with the sharp end. The core cracked on the first hit, and the Evangelion unit continued pounding away, until the Angel reared up, and suddenly wrapped around Unit 01's head and torso, it's previously solid black body warping to surround the Unit until it looked like a glob of oil.

"Shit! It's going to self destruct!" Misato said, as a white ball of light became visible from within the Angel.

The screen turned white a moment later, and the bridge, as well as the rest of NERV shuddered under the shock. After what felt like hours, the glare began to fade away, and Misato leaned forward, staring intently as the white was replaced by flames.

"Is the Eva...?"

The audio pickups, which had muted so as not to overload from the sound of the explosion, came back on then, and a muted roar could be heard, as well as an almost rhythmic pounding.

As the screen cleared some more, the obvious outline of Unit 01 appeared, walking almost directly towards the camera, answering the Captain's unfinished question. However, as the details grew sharper, it was apparent the Unit's armor had been blown off in numerous places by the blast.

"That's the..." Dr. Akagi muttered, staring at the screen.

"-true form?" Misato finished, staring just as hard, and sounding just as shocked. Below us, someone screamed in apparent shock, and I gulped, staring at the screen in horror.

What I had though... What I had been TOLD- that the Eva was a robot- was obviously untrue, after looking at the display.

"What the hell is that thing," I muttered, which was fortunately drowned out by a chime from most of the displays on the Bridge.

"Circuits reconnected," Lieutenant Aoba said, shocking those that hadn't responded to the chime into action.

"Systems... restored. All graphs have normalized," Ibuki said, taking a breath mid-sentence to calm herself. Not that I could blame her.

Glancing down at my own display, I realized the meters detailing the Pilot's current state had begun back up, and turned to look at Misato, "Pilot Shinji's life signs are confirmed."

She nodded and turned towards one of the lower-levels, shouting down for them to start the recovery procedures.

"Preserving the Pilot's life is your, no, OUR first priority!" She added.

Then Unit 01's mask fell off, and all activity ceased. Unit 01's head was... organic. It had obvious plates of some sort screwed into it, but beneath it all you could see signs of organic tissue. When it suddenly opened a pair of unearthly green eyes, and Shinji started screaming, I realized there was a lot more to NERV and the Evangelion Units than I was being told.

After a moment of unsteady silence, Misato turned to look at Commander Ikari who had sat through the entire thing rather quietly.

"Commander, requesting permission to join the Pilot recovery team."

For a moment he sat there, staring down at her through his glasses, before finally nodding, "granted. Dr. Akagi, You know what needs to be done; report to my office when you return. Fuyutsuki, take charge." Without another word or a backwards glance, he left, disappearing into a door set in the back wall. The Sub-Commander stepped forward and looked down at us. Dr. Akagi and Captain Katsuragi both practically ran to the lift that would take them to the main hall and the rest of us glanced up at the Sub-Commander.

"Well done everyone. Lock down your stations, and the secondary crews will be here in a moment to relieve you. Kerrigan, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but since your presence here wasn't scheduled, you're still on call for the remainder of the day. The rest of you are free for then next 24 hours as per NERV regulations."

Shigeru and Maya both locked down their consoles, and after a moment of confusion, I did the same, after Ibuki told me how to do it.

"Not too bad today, Kerrigan," Aoba commented, as we made our way to the locker rooms.

"Right," I replied frowning in thought, the end of the battle replaying over and over in my mind.

"I wonder where Hyuga was," Lieutenant Ibuki asked, "It's not like him to be late."

"Captain Katsuragi will probably have Section Two look into it when she gets back," Aoba answered. She nodded at that, and moved off towards the women's locker room, while Shigeru made his way towards the Men's.

He held the door open for me, but I waved it off, "I'm going back to the office, like the Sub-Commander said. I'll catch up with you all later."

"Are you sure? Being on-call, you can work from home, as long as you have your phone with you."

"I know, but today's been rather hectic, you know? I don't want to drive any more than I have to, and if I get called upon, I'd rather be here than try to drive back."

"Makes sense," he replied, nodding. Without another word, he slipped into the locker room, and I made my way to the office I shared with Captain Katsuragi. Sitting down and pulling out the folder I'd been given, I read through the section on the Evangelion Unit again, then moved on to the section on the Angels. Aside from the rather basic descriptions, however, there was still little information to be had. The Angel's were, as far as the packet said, merely an opposing force of oversized organic bio-weapons. Whether they were the enemy, or were being sent by an enemy was unstated. Where they were stored until being deployed against us was unstated.

Frowning, I flipped through the packet to the information on Third Impact, and realized that aside from Terminal Dogma, their objective, there was no information on how or why there would be a cataclysmic occurrence. Was Terminal Dogma an area that, upon entering, would cause some sort of apocalyptic event? That almost sounded like an AT-Field, but if that was the case, what was in Terminal Dogma to cause that?

My musing was interrupted by the ringing of my desk phone, and I tossed the packet down with a sigh, realizing that all I was doing was coming up with more questions.

"Kerrigan," I mumbled, after picking up the phone.

"Lieutenant, this is Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki, do you have a moment?"

Straightening up in my desk, I responded, "Yes, sir!"

"Good. Be in my office in fifteen minutes. Try to organize your thoughts in the meantime," he said evenly.

"Sir?"

"Fifteen minutes, Lieutenant," he repeated, before hanging up.

"... okay, that was strange," I said to myself as I straightened up the packet on my desk. A moment later the door opened, and someone in a suit walked in, nodding once at me before setting a couple sheets of paper down on Misato's desk and leaving. Blinking, I stepped over to her desk and glanced at the papers, before realizing they were complaints filed against NERV. The sheet below it was a damage report, though it looked rather hastily thrown together. Shrugging it off as Misato's problem for now, I made my way down to the Sub-Commander's office, and arriving a couple minutes early.

A moment later, the Sub-Commander stepped out of the elevator down the hall, a woman in civilian clothes following him. Spotting me at his door, he said something to her I didn't hear, then grinned at me, "Not just prompt, but early? Let's get started."

"Sir?" I asked, looking at the civilian. Remembering just how many confidentiality things I'd had to sign, I wasn't quite sure what we were going to be discussing.

"Miss. Nomura here is an aide to the UN's Security Council. She's been briefed on the details of the Evangelion Project, and is merely going to be here to witness your report."

"Report?"

"Post-Operation Battle Report. Normally, you wouldn't have to do this, but since Lieutenant Hyuga wasn't present, and you were in his place, you're going to have to give one as well."

I wondered about that for a moment, then shrugged, "I'm not quite sure what this entails, sir. Lieutenant Ibuki told me to come to the Bridge, so I went. When Hyuga failed to show up, Dr. Akagi sat me down in his chair, told me which exit point to use, and that was about it."

"Recordings indicate you also assisted in keeping Director of Operations Captain Katsuragi and Project. E Director Dr. Akagi informed as the battle progressed," Miss Nomura said.

"Well, Lieutenant Aoba and Ibuki were doing most of that. A couple time I saw information that might have been useful and let them do what they wanted with it. I figured that was what Hyuga was supposed to do, since the three of them work together, and that was what the other two were doing."

"There's a bit more to the Lieutenant's job than that, but for the most part, you're right," The Sub-Commander said, glancing at the aide for a moment before continuing, "All in all, for someone with little training, you did fairly well out there. Considering your upcoming task, putting you on the Bridge might be the most reasonable reallocation of resources."

"Err... what about Lieutenant Hyuga?" I asked, blinking.

"The Lieutenant will retain his spot. However, now that the complexities of operating an Eva in the field have come to light, we might reassign some of his duties to you, so he can concentrate more on the Evangelion itself."

"So he's been found?"

"Getting a little familiar, aren't you Lieutenant?"

"I'm sorry, Sir. I just... I knew Hyuga. Sir."

"Yes, that's been mentioned in your file. Friendships are nice, but you must remember, Lieutenant, we are at war, against nothing mankind as ever faced before. Do your best to keep your personal life separate from your professional life, much like you did today on the Bridge."

"Understood, sir."

"Good. Lieutenant Hyuga was found in an elevator on the west side of the facility. Power to that portion of the facility was only recently restored, and so he spent the duration of the skirmish trapped between floors. His absence was due to no fault of his own, and he will not be punished for something he had no control over."

"Yes sir," I said, feeling relieved. We weren't best friends, but he was still someone I trusted, and his absence had been somewhat unnerving.

"Back to the matter at hand, Kerrigan, could you briefly detail the battle, from your point of view, doing your best to remain objective?"

I nodded and described for them the battle, omitting my thoughts as best I could. When I finished, the Aide nodded at the Sub-Commander, who turned to me.

"And your thoughts, Lieutenant?"

"On?"

"The battle. Suggestions, Questions, Observations... we are not totally military, as you know. If something can be made more efficient, we'd prefer to do that now, before it becomes a problem."

"Oh. Well, I have some questions about the Evan-"

"Those kinds of questions should be directed to Doctor Akagi," Fuyutsuki cut in, quickly.

"Oh... Yes, sir. Aside from the lack of online defenses within the city, everything turned out okay. I was somewhat surprised that the Pilot had no training, but after that brief scare, he managed to pull through quite admirably. My only concern is the fact that the pilot was subjected to feeling everything the Eva unit felt."

"A concern we all feel, I assure you. Dr. Akagi can give you more details on the interface system of the Units, but from what I understand, it's as necessary as it is unwanted."

I nodded at that, then frowned, "I do remember that one of the Bridges below us started to panic when Shinji- Excuse me- when Pilot Ikari's Evangelion Unit was damaged."

As I said that, Fuyutsuki winced slightly, before nodding gravely, "Yes, their lack of discipline was apparent to both Commander Ikari and I, as well as everyone else present. Their training should have been sufficient to prevent such, and the fact that you, without Bridge training, managed better than them merely makes them looks worse. That lack of discipline will be taken care of." He then grinned slightly at me, and asked, "Anything else?"

"Not off the top of my head, sir."

"All right. If this happens again, you will probably be asked to do this again, but on paper. One of the reasons you had to give your report verbally was your lack of security clearance at the time."

"You mean I wasn't cleared for the Bridge?" I asked, incredulously.

"Excuse me, Lieutenant?"

"Err... I wasn't informed that I was not cleared to be on the Bridge during battle, Sir."

"You weren't, but you are now. Your clearance from Internal Affairs covered a large portion of the internal workings of NERV. Project E, however is given its own clearance levels that are above anything else. I'll have a breakdown sent to you, but understand that as we are the last defense Mankind has, we must all take security seriously."

"I... I understand sir. I'll look over the information and do my best to avoid any more mistakes."

"Very good, Lieutenant. I'll take care of that particular problem with Section Two, and see to it that your Clearances are updated accordingly. The error was not entirely your own fault. Commander Ikari will be calling for you soon, so I'll let you get back to your work."

"Yes, sir," I said, saluting and leaving.

"Lieutenant Kerrigan! Wait a moment," Someone behind me shouted as I stepped into the elevator. Holding the Door-Open button, I waited for whoever it was to join me. A second later, Miss Nomura entered the Elevator.

"Miss Nomura," I said, nodding.

"Lieutenant, I was wondering if you had a moment," she said, quietly. Glancing around at the empty elevator, I nodded once.

"You said you had some questions about the Eva series back there. Mind sharing them?" she asked, getting straight to the point. Remembering what had happened when I had brought that up, I turned to look at her with a frown, "I'm not quite sure I'm allowed to talk about it."

"I understand your hesitation, Lieutenant, and I sympathize. I'm sure today's been a rather hectic one for you, as well as everyone else here at NERV. However, don't forget that I am an Aide to the UN Security Council, which played a major role in establishing NERV. I've been fully briefed on the Evangelion line of Robots, and thought I might be able to shed some light on things."

I shrugged at that, glancing at the floor indicator, before turning to glance back at her. Was this some sort of poorly-disguised test the Sub-Commander had put her up to? He hadn't seemed that upset by my apparent breach of security, but then again, what if he was just good at hiding his dislike of the situation. He had seemed genuinely amiable about it, though, so that wasn't very likely.

"I'll just ask Doctor Akagi when she returns. Since she works directly with the Units, I'm sure she could help; besides, the question had no relevance to the battle directly," I replied after another moment. Hopefully that was more deflective than defensive. Before she could say anything to that the elevator doors opened on my floor, and I stepped out, heading towards my office.

"Lieutenant, wait!" She cried from the elevator, holding the door open as she stared somewhat imploringly at me, "there's... something going on here; something not-right. I can feel it, Lieutenant, tell me you can too."

A door down the hall behind me opened, and I glanced over my shoulder to see two black-suited Section Two agents entered the hall, walking our way. Taking a step back, I shook my head, "what I feel isn't as important right now as what I do. Killing the Angels takes precedence."

"Why are the Angels coming here, Kerrigan? Ask yourself that, Lieutenant," She said, slapping the door close button as she stared over my shoulder at the two approaching agents.

"Excuse me, Lieutenant," one of the said as they passed me, headed for the elevator. They'd have never made it in time, but suddenly the doors stopped about an inch from being closed, and snapped back open, allowing the lead agent into the elevator.

"Commander Ikari has asked for your presence at a meeting with your superiors, Miss Nomura," the agent in the elevator said. The second one stood beside me for a moment, mumbling into his wrist-mic for a moment before glancing my way, nodding an "affirmative," and stepping into the elevator. A moment later the door closed.

I stood there for a moment wondering what had just happened, before frowning in thought at Miss Nomura's last words. Slowly making my way back to the office, I sat down in my desk, and stared at the folder I'd been reading before the Sub-Commander had called me. After a couple minutes of flipping through them, however, I sighed and tossed the packet back. I'd have to wait for my security clearance to change before searching for answers.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, I slumped into my chair a little more and turned my gaze towards the ceiling. Was killing the Angels as important as I had told the Aide? On one hand, it was fairly obvious that, yes, killing was the first and highest priority. After all, with their success, mankind would cease to exist, so killing them was an issue of self-defense, as well as world-wide importance. On the other hand, was this really the only way it could be done? Cape Canaveral had been lost during Second Impact, but since then, several launch sites had been created... could we just launch whatever was hidden away in Terminal Dogma into the sun and be done with it?

I pulled myself to my feet slowly, dismissing my previous idea. A solution like that would have been readily apparent to some of the people who helped establish NERV. Of the hundreds of people who probably worked together to start it, they all must have agreed that this was the most effective way of combating the threat the Angels presented.

Shaking my head of the endless loop of questions I could not currently answer, I glanced at the hallway stretching before me, before making my way towards the Elevators. It was time to go see my future charge.

Arriving at the Medical Center of NERV, I grimaced at the number of people in the waiting area, and briefly considered turning around, before pressing forward. Slipping through the crowd as quickly as I could, I made my way to the rear elevator, only to be stopped by a tired-looking but obviously attentive Security Guard. That he was armed with a highly-visible Submachine gun made me feel better for Rei's safety, but getting past him might require more talking than I'd prefer. I could only hope that my intended profession had gotten me listed as an allowed visitor.

"Can I help you, sir?" the Sergeant asked.

"I'm here to see Rei, the First Children," I replied, wondering again why they were referred to as such, and hoping again that I was on file as I handed the man my Identification. With a grunt, he slid the magnetic strip through a reader nearby, glancing back at me as the computer pulled up my files. The fact that he'd straightened up a little when I'd said who I was here to see had me thinking, as well. Was she the sole reason a guard had been posted here? I shook my head as I realized by now Shinji was probably within, being checked up on.

"Sir, you're cleared for a 5 minute visit with the First. Do you know the way?"

I nodded, and stepped past the guard, who opened the door for me, into the elevator beyond. As the doors slid closed I glanced at the readout and smirked when I realized the Elevator was being controlled from the guard's station, before I turned back to look at my reflection in the stainless steel door as the Elevator rose. Halfway there, however, it jarred to a halt, before plummeting, the descent rapid enough to make me grab the rail to the side as my weight became almost nonexistent. After a moment, gravity returned, then increased as the elevator slowed its descent, and I realized something or someone had just called the elevator down to whatever floor we were now on.

When the car finally stopped, the doors slid open, and a stretcher was quickly pushed inside, a comatose Shinji lying on it as Dr. Akagi, Misato, and a couple unfamiliar personnel piled into the elevator as well. A pair of strong hands grabbed me and pulled me towards the door, and I twisted, only to find myself staring into the sunglasses of a section two agent.

"Hold it, you two. He's fine," I heard Doctor Akagi say, a moment after I had tried to protest. Being physically hauled out of an elevator, however, my protest had been more of an incoherent noise than an understandable string of words. The two agents turned to look at Captain Katsuragi, who was currently staring at Shinji in the stretcher, as if waiting for her orders. Unfortunately, the doors slid shut before she even glanced away, and I sighed as the two agents let go of my shirt.

"We're sorry, sir, but our orders are specific," one of them said, as I did my best to tuck my shirt back in. I sighed, and turned to look around, finally noticing It was some sort of parking garage within the GeoFront, filled with emergency vehicles of every kind. Around me were numerous ambulances, while further away, I saw fire trucks, water tankers, and beyond that, trailers, earthmovers, and more. In the far back, however, I saw a tunnel leading off and up into the distance, obviously leading towards the surface. The path was lit by a series of sequentially flashing lights, and I assumed the ambulance that had brought Shinji in has used it to avoid getting lost in the maze of corridors that existed within NERV.

Looking at the two agents from Section Two, I waved my hand back at the elevator, "can I go back in, now, or will I have to walk?" I asked with a frown.

"That depends. We'll need your ID, and a couple minutes to get this sorted out. The Elevator you were in is off limits to all but Command-level Personnel."

I blinked, then hung my head as I handed over my card, "I'm Pilot Ayanami's caretaker. I was on my way up to see her," I said, as they took the card towards a nearby terminal. He scanned it and began typing, while the other agent spoke into his radio. After a minute, the two glanced at each other, before turning to me.

"Sir, you're going to have to come with us."

"What? Why?" I asked, annoyed. If this was another error in the computers, I was going to have to request to Dr. Akagi and Misato that things be fixed immediately. A fuck up like this in the middle of a battle could prove disastrous. Not that I was all that important on the bridge, but if Rei were with me, a delay of this magnitude could be catastrophic.

The tree of us marched through the back halls and corridors of NERV, one behind me, the other in front of me, as we made our way to an unknown destination. Finally, I groaned when we passed a sign that announced to us that the Detention Block was ahead.

Staring down on the bench-like cot attached to the wall of the miniscule cell they'd placed me in, I wondered how long it would take for someone to discover where I was. Glancing at the oversized NERV logo on the wall above the cot, I sighed and turned, sitting down on the hard metal bed and wondering how long it would take me to fall asleep on it.

After five minutes or so of staring at the floor, I turned and lay back, wondering how often these cells had been used, if ever. Nobody had asked any questions, and they hadn't even bothered emptying my pockets before shoving me in here. I considered digging out my car keys, but decided against it, since that would serve no real purpose. Glancing once more at the logo of NERV, I closed my eyes, and did my best to fall asleep, despite the chill in the air, and the density of the bed.

------

Author's Notes: Chapter 2 has come and gone.. and now to start on Chapter 3. Geeze, that was a pain... you may not know this, but the fight shown at the beginning of episode two is not the same as the one shown at the end. Almost all the dialogue is different, and because of that, I had to sit here and write down every line of dialogue for both versions, then do my best to mesh them into one complete version, and then proceed to alter it so that Daniel was there instead of Hyuga. Hopefully it flows well enough (For an Eva-fic, that is. Heh) that you can't tell I did that until you read this.

I'd like to thank Nate and Nidoking for helping pre-read this chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

"Lieutenant Kerrigan?" a voice asked, waking me from my sleep. I sat up on the cot, and  
winced slightly at the stiffness in my back before turning to look at the section two agent  
standing in the entrance to my darkened cell.

"Commander Ikari wishes to speak to you," the man said after a moment's hesitation,  
before stepping out of the doorway, and motioning for me to precede him.

"How long was I...?" I asked hesitantly, not really sure I wanted to know the answer.

"Only two hours, sir." The agent responded, as we slowly made our way through the  
labyrinth of halls towards the Commander's office.

"Are you all going to throw me back in there after this?" I asked with a scowl.

"No sir, you've been cleared of all suspicions, and I was told to notify you that your status  
has been updated accordingly."

I sighed with relief at that, the knowledge that I could get a shower and head home after  
this meeting giving me the strength not to berate Section Two to the Commander. Then  
again, what grounds did I have to stand on, officially? As much as I disliked what had  
happened, I knew that technically, the fault had been mine.

After a few more halls, elevators, and even an escalator ride, we arrived at the large  
double doorway to the office, and the Section Two agent there turned and disappeared  
into an unmarked door down the hall.

Again, the door swung wide at my knock, the well-oiled hinges and darkened interior  
making it seem as if the door itself melted away. Ignoring that, I stepped into the room.

"Reporting as ordered, sir," I stated as I paused before his desk. His gaze never wavered  
from me, and I found myself glad that, at the moment, I was supposed to be staring  
ahead, not into his eyes. Even avoiding them, I could feel them examining me,  
evaluating... it was distinctively unnerving, and made only more so by the pause he  
seemed always to fit in between my initial statement and his first response.

"Very good, Lieutenant. Your lack of forethought this afternoon aside, you've once again  
managed to show your dedication to NERV, this time operating under pressure and  
adapting to a situation your training had not covered. As such, you are to be rewarded."

"Sir?" I asked, surprised, and curious. NERV, unlike most military organizations, did not  
use ribbons and medals to distinguish outstanding behavior.

"The suggestion came from the Director of Operations, Lieutenant, not this office. You  
are to be given paid leave for 10 days, effective immediately."

"Sir, we've just been... attacked by enemy forces; I don't want to be abse-"

"Your wants are irrelevant, the position you took today is already filled, a repeat is  
unlikely."

"I... Yes sir," I replied, humbled.

"We have, Lieutenant, reason to believe the Angels will not attack again for some time,"  
Ikari said. Before I could ask how, he continued, essentially cutting off my response,  
"that is privileged information, Lieutenant."

I nodded silently, understanding. Apparently NERV had some sort of insight into the  
enemy's abilities. However that information came to NERV, it was good to know that my  
new break would be uninterrupted by another giant... thing. Then I remembered my  
primary job at NERV.

"Sir, what about Rei?"

"What about Rei?" He replied after a moment.

"When she's well enough to leave the hospital here-" I paused, suddenly realizing what  
continuing would sound like. Fortunately, before I could try to dig myself out of the hole  
I'd just placed myself in, or the Commander could finish my sentence, Sub Commander  
Fuyutsuki spoke, "-she will be transferred into your care."

"Of course, sir," I said, immediately. It was fairly obvious what I'd just avoided, and I  
know both the Commanders knew it, just as well as I did, but when Commander Ikari  
spoke again, it was apparent he was willing to drop it.

"If you are recalled to Service, any and all unused days will be added to your vacation  
pool. However, your life is now committed to protecting Rei's. If you are to vacation, the  
First Children is to accompany you, along with whatever extra security precautions I  
deem necessary. Because of this, any and all requests are to be verbally delivered directly  
to me, is that understood?"

"Yes sir."

"The change in your clearance level has, by now been implemented in all systems. All  
Section Two Agents within a kilometer of Rei's proximity while on NERV grounds, and  
within five kilometers outside are to defer to you at all times. Do not abuse this power, or  
I will know."

"Understood, sir. Will Captain Katsuragi's orders override mine if we both give orders?" I  
asked, considering Shinji would be her charge, as well.

"Only if those orders conflict. Your service piece and phone will be delivered to your  
residence shortly. Dismissed, Lieutenant."

I saluted and made my way out quickly. Ten days to myself. Well, theoretically ten days  
to myself, if not, at least a few. Making my way down to the locker rooms, I took the  
time to shower away the sweat this morning's battle had helped build up, before pulling  
on the clothes I usually wore in, a pair of slacks and a short-sleeved dress shirt. The  
bridge crew and some of the other's at NERV wore their uniforms to and from work, but  
after training, I was glad to be able to leave wearing something that could breathe.

I was about half way out when I realized I'd still not seen Rei yet, and while I could come  
back at any time during my leave to visit, now would probably be easiest, and not require  
a trip halfway across town.

Catching an Elevator descending towards the Medical Center, I fished out my ID Badge,  
and kept it in my hand, so I could give it to anyone who asked with a minimum of  
searching.

Arriving, I found the entrance to the area remarkably calmed, the few people still sitting  
around waiting apparently waiting on others or asleep. Handing my ID to the guard, I was  
quickly waved in, and this time made it to the room unmolested, uncontested, and with a  
single elevator ride.

"God," I mumbled as the door opened. The oxygen tent had been removed, and some of  
the larger wrappings and casts removed and replaced with smaller bandages, she was still  
quite a ways from being fully healed. Her arm was in an almost comically-oversized  
cast, and half her face was wrapped in gauze, both of which were glowing in the  
fluorescent lights, obviously newly added. There were still bandages covering most  
exposed areas of skin, smaller wounds that didn't need to be held shut, and from the way  
one side of her hospital gown looked pressed into her side, her ribs were still wrapped up.

"The EKG Machine beside her beeped steadily, the IV Rack above standing like a silent  
sentinel in the room. There was a soft flutter from the EKG, and I suddenly found myself  
being observed by the one I had just been observing.

"I'm sorry, Rei, I didn't mean to wake you," I apologized. She didn't answer, or make any  
sort of response, and I fumbled for words, before deciding on an introduction.

"I'm..." the words died as she turned her head away from me. This was not how I had  
hoped this meeting would go.

"Rei? If you're not feeling well, I can come back," I said, moving towards the door.  
Again, there was no response, and I sighed, "I'm sorry I disturbed you. I should have  
thought... well... never mind. I'll come back some other time."

I turned to leave, but before I could make it through the door, I heard a very weak, quiet  
voice ask, "did the Commander send you?"

"Commander Ikari? He didn't send-send me, but I'd like to think this is what he would  
prefer. You know, getting to know you and all. Your file was pretty short, and all, so  
there's not much to go by."

She turned her head again, her brow twitching in pain briefly before fixing me with her  
red, emotionless gaze. I returned it for a moment, then looked around for a chair,  
grabbing one and pulling it towards her bed and asking if she minded if I sat. When she  
didn't answer, I assumed she didn't and sat, looking around the room and spotting the card  
I'd brought for her my last visit. The vase of flowers was gone, but the card, which didn't  
require upkeep and maintenance, now occupied the table, the only apparent gift or  
memento to the wounded girl in the bed beside me.

Turning back to her with a frown, I wondered why nobody else had visited... surely I  
wasn't the only one who cared about her well being. Realizing her stare hadn't left me, I  
gave her a weak smile, then realized she probably had no clue what was going on.

"Has anyone," I asked, "told you what's been going on?"

"The Third battled an Angel and succeeded," she said, her voice still weak. I would have  
celebrated getting an answer out of her, but it wasn't exactly the one I'd wanted.

"No, I mean about you... the move and everything?"

Her blank stare was all the answer I needed. Rolling my eyes and fixing the ceiling tiles  
with my gaze as I organized my thoughts, I started to explain. "The UN has kind of  
ordered NERV to give its Pilots guardians. Shi- Pilot Ikari was originally going to be my  
charge, but Captain Katsuragi... was chosen instead. So the Commander has decided to  
place you in my care."

She blinked at that. "I'm being discarded?" She asked after a moment, her voice even  
quieter. That made ME blink; where had that come from?

"No, no, you're just being moved into my new apartment with me, so you have some  
adult supervision, and... Rei?" as I was speaking, she had turned to look away from me  
again. Sighing, I stood up and put the chair back.

"I was hoping we could talk some, get to know each other... maybe even be friends, but if  
you dislike the idea-"

"Did the Commander order it?" she suddenly said, her voice a little louder.

"Yes. But if you don't like me, I'm sure that someone else…" I trailed off. 'Someone else-'  
what? Would take my place? If that happened, where would I be? Where would they  
come from? It was apparent, suddenly, that I was the only readily available person who  
could take this job with a minimum of personnel shuffling.

"I will obey my orders, Lieutenant Kerrigan," Rei said, not turning to face me. I stared at  
the back of her head, wondering again how blue hair was possible, before shaking the  
thought out of my head, and thanking her softly, before turning to go.

Before I did, however, I glanced at the card on the table, and sighed. She obviously  
trusted in Commander Ikari's decisions, despite the fact that one had probably gotten her  
in here, and I decided to alter the truth in hopes of breaking through to her.

"The Commander... helped with this card on the table for you. He's signed it." When it  
was apparent that would get no answer, I shuffled out the door, and stared at the floor,  
before making my way across the hall to look out the window at the Geofront.

That night, after making my way through an obviously subdued Tokyo-3, I found  
myself staring at the spare bedroom of my apartment, and wondering what, if  
anything, I still needed to do to prepare. With a sigh, I realized that this  
situation wasn't exactly life-or-death, and if something had been forgotten, at  
the worst, I'd have to make a late-night run to the store.

Making my way back to the living room, I collapsed in front of the TV I'd  
recently purchased, the couch surprisingly comfortable in my rather awkward  
position. Waking up the next morning, however, reminded me that, comfortable or  
not, sleeping on one arm while the other is twisted somewhat behind your head  
leads to a number of cramps.

After a quick shower and breakfast, I glanced up at the clock, and then  
towards the city visible through the glass door that lead to the closet-sized  
balcony. It was a startlingly bright day out, not a cloud in the sky, and I decided  
to go for a walk. After locking the door behind me and getting down to the  
ground floor, I took off, deciding to find the little park visible from the  
balcony. It was a couple blocks away, but I had all day, so I wasn't really  
concerned about being exact.

Finding the park had been relatively easy, and after making it there, I  
wandered around for a bit, wondering whether or not I was currently above the  
pyramidal NERV Headquarters Building, the Lake, or regular land, and then glanced  
at the large rectangular pond in the middle of the lake with a start. While it  
was edged with packed soil and grass, the center was surprisingly blue, and I  
smirked as I realized I was staring at one of the many "hidden" windows  
through which natural light made its way down into the Geofront.

Openly staring at the water now, I couldn't see any real indication that  
there was an open space below, and figured that the transparent material was  
probably not glass, but something light-scattering, like those shower walls that  
only show silhouettes. Thinking back to all my trips through town, and all the  
times I'd driven past little parks like this, I began to appreciate the  
planning that had gone into Tokyo-3.

When I had first arrived, I remembered the seemingly-constant alerts as  
buildings were raised and lowered into the ground, to ensure that none of the  
systems involved would lock up at an inopportune moment. I also recall the  
occasional opening through which one could look into the workings of Tokyo-3, the  
mazes of pipes, girders, and armored layers preventing access to the hidden valley  
below the city.

Now, however, Tokyo-3 was complete, its inner workings hidden beneath a  
well-constructed façade, and there were signs of life everywhere, now that NERV  
Employees were allowed to bring in their families. Businesses had popped up  
almost everywhere, the pre-fabricated buildings rapidly being surrounded by smaller  
ventures, desperate to get in on an entirely new city.

Staring momentarily at a familiar pair of golden arches, I wondered if the sudden growth  
of commerce was an attempt to regain some of the funds that went into the  
creation of Tokyo-3, the Eva Project, and whatever else NERV spent enough money  
on to warrant worldwide interest. From what I had seen on the screen, not only  
was Tokyo-3 riddled with tracks to guide the catapulted Eva units to the  
surface, there were entire buildings that were nothing more than hollowed out  
holsters for Eva-sized weapons.

And then there were the Eva's themselves. I'd only seen one in action, but  
that had been enough to garner my full attention. Dr. Akagi could probably  
answer any questions I had, but since I was on vacation, I didn't want to waste her  
time talking about things I'd probably have to go in to talk to her about.

Glancing at one of the many well-marked Exits for the Evas, I couldn't help  
but think of one of the earlier questions I'd had. Tokyo-3 seemed designed from  
the ground up as a fortress from which one would fight oncoming Angels. This  
implied, then, that from the start the UN had known the Angels would be coming  
here. If Central Dogma was the target, had it been built, or was it already  
here, and Tokyo-3 was built over it?

Slipping into my apartment, I wondered then why NERV had branches in other  
countries with staff as numerous as Tokyo-3's. Germany, The USA, and Japan both  
had two NERV bases, while China, France, Russia and the UK had smaller  
outposts, though reports indicated China's was at least equipped with a MAGI-type  
supercomputer, one of 6 to be placed around the globe. Maya had mentioned however  
that due to a lack of expertise, Both Berlin and Massachusetts' MAGI were  
still a year or so away from completion.

Still, the MAGI system seemed like overkill if all the Angels would be coming  
here. As far as I could tell, they crunched numbers well, but were basically  
designed for Wave-Pattern Analysis. The only reason to have them spread out  
around the globe (aside from the very-real possibility of "you have one why  
don't we?" lobbying) was if whatever we guarded here in Tokyo-3 had duplicates in  
those locations. If that were the case, was whatever we guarded fabricated?  
And could it be destroyed to prevent the Angels from getting it?

The next day, I decided to look for a few more answers, instead of generating  
more questions. Starting at the Public Library, I began looking into the  
history of NERV, and the War with the Angels. Unfortunately, most of what I could  
read was already known, Second Impact, NERV's formation to combat the coming  
of the Angels… everything that had started my line of questioning in the first  
place. There was, however, one tidbit of information gleaned from an old  
newspaper that I found interesting. In it, there was a little article concerning  
now sub-commander Fuyutsuki and someone named Yui Ikari, and an Organization  
called GEHIRN.

Looking through the paper, and once again reading between the lines, I found  
little bits of information that indicated that Dr. Ikari and Professor  
Fuyutsuki, her teacher, had made massive leaps into scientifically explaining and  
quantifying the existence of a human soul. GEHIRN was developed and partially  
funded by the UN to further their research on a full-time basis.

GEHIRN was located in Hakone, which would later be built-over into the  
City-Fortress Tokyo-3. GEHIRN, I realized, was NERV's Predecessor. Something had  
been done at GEHIRN that had transformed the smallish-research center into a  
worldwide organization dedicated to the defense of humanity from the oncoming  
Angels.

Unfortunately, this didn't do any more than raise new questions in place of  
the old. Including an all-new one; who was Yui Ikari, and what, if any,  
relationship did she have with Commander Ikari?

Try as I might, I could find little more information on GEHIRN, since a  
majority of their accomplishments were made before Second Impact. Still, it was a  
start. I decided when I got back to work next week, I could look into the  
History of NERV from the inside.

Of course, there was also the matter of my primary assignment. My research  
would probably be put on hold until I was sure Rei was comfortable, and even  
then, I wasn't sure whether or not her security clearance was high enough for me  
to leave papers concerning NERV around. How much information was released to  
the pilots, anyway? I knew that at 14, most of the Children would have a good  
grasp on the importance of their mission, but had NERV explained the "why's" and  
"how's" of the situation. Frowning at that, I wondered myself just why the  
Evangelions required 14-year olds.

For the rest of the day, I did my best to relax, watching a couple news reports, before  
flipping through the channels and finally stopping on a movie. Glancing at the  
entertainment center I'd acquired, I wondered if Rei would like a video game system.  
Before I bought that though, I figured I should at least find out what Rei's interests were.  
I'd hate to find out she preferred physical activities and would rather have a treadmill.

Sunday afternoon, my phone rang. After weeks of recuperation, Rei was being released  
into my care for the foreseeable future. The overcast sky had threatened to unleash its  
load of water down upon Tokyo-3, and as I made my way to the main entrance of NERV,  
the water began to fall. Making my way quickly to the medical wing, I glanced at my  
hastily-applied uniform, wondering if I was supposed to wear it, or if I would have been  
allowed to come in the t-shirt and jeans I had been wearing. Shrugging it off as pointless,  
I slipped into the Outpatient area, and stopped moments before slamming into someone.

My heart caught in my throat when I realized it was Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki, and the  
Section Two agents nearby looked about ready to attack me, though they restrained  
themselves from doing anything after realizing I wasn't trying to attack him. The Sub-  
Commander turned to look at me, then stepped out of the way to give me my first look at  
a non-bed-ridden Rei since that one time, over a year ago.

In her hospital gown, she looked almost pathetic, the bandages covering one eye and the  
sling for her arm doing nothing bad adding to her aura of helplessness. However, as weak  
as she appeared, I knew that anyone willing to pilot an Eva was obviously in possession  
of a willpower greater than her appearance suggested. The other possibility, that she was  
crazy to pilot, was dismissed; NERV wouldn't take that big a risk, and even if it wanted  
to, the UN would almost assuredly step in.

"Rei, Lieutenant Kerrigan is here to take you to your new home. Section two will be by  
later with the few supplies left at your previous place."

"Understood," she intoned quietly, meeting my gaze fully. Her expression was decidedly  
blank, portraying nothing, though I noticed her wince a little as she took a step in my  
direction.

Looking at Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki, I considered for a moment, before asking, "Sir,  
what all is Rei… err..-" I stumbled for a moment, my brief bit of clarity disappearing as I  
considered how to ask about her security clearance without potentially offending her.  
After a moment, I closed my mouth, and began again, deciding to just spit it all out at  
once, "what is Rei's security clearance level?"

The elder man frowned slightly at that, "planning on leaving classified paperwork lying  
around, Lieutenant?"

"No, sir. I merely wish to know if any conversation topic is off limits," I responded,  
feeling a little irked that he'd have so little faith in my ability to respect the rules and  
regulations.

"I understand. As far as topics go, you're free to discuss all aspects of your job with Rei,"  
he replied, eliciting some surprise. I didn't think she was that well informed, though it  
would make sense. His next sentence, however, stopped me fully, "On the other hand,  
Lieutenant, some topics Rei can not discuss with you, as your clearance is not high  
enough. If you have detailed questions about the Evangelions, please speak with Dr.  
Akagi, myself, or Commander Ikari."

I nodded, "Understood, sir." Unfortunately, I didn't, not really. Still, questioning my  
superior, if nothing else, was a bad example to set for Rei, and she looked somewhat pale,  
so the sooner I got her seated, and home, the better.

Turning to her, I gave her a cheerful smile, and asked her if she was ready to go home.

"Yes sir."

My smile faded at that. It wasn't exactly an unexpected answer, but it was decidedly  
bland. most people would have been at least a little happy to be leaving the hospital for  
home, even if it's a new one. Or maybe I expected her to be apprehensive? Either-or, her  
complete lack of emotion was unsettling, and I mulled over it as I took my leave of the  
Sub-Commander and directed her to the car.

Along the way, I caught myself glancing at her out of the corner of my eye as she  
followed me along, wondering whether or not she was upset, or maybe even angry about  
the way things were turning out.

"So, Rei, I've read about you from your file, but that never conveys much more than cold  
facts… why don't you tell me about yourself?" I asked, trying to start up a conversation  
as we took a personnel escalator to the garage.

"Why?"

I blinked. "Well, for one, it's a good way to begin a relationship." I said, somewhat  
haltingly.

"You wish to have a relationship with me?"

Had we been walking, I'd have probably stopped so suddenly she might have crashed  
into me. As it was, however, it took a second before I turned to look at her, "That's not  
what I meant." After a moment, my frown dissolved, and I amended, "what I mean is, as  
your guardian… no, as a friend and guardian, I'd like to get to know you."

"The information you referred to from my file should have been sufficient," she intoned  
listlessly, watching the step ahead of us as it disappeared into the floor before stepping  
off the escalator and heading down the hall towards the parking garage.

"I suppose, but as I said, it's easy to get a bad impression from a simple dossier."

"I don't understand," she asked, slowing down slightly.

Still somewhat unnerved by her apparent lack of emotion, and wondering if she was  
suffering from some form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, I opened the car door for  
her, and waited for her to settle into the passenger seat before closing it. As I made my  
way around the car, I made a mental note to myself to retrieve some of my college books  
on psychology, and to schedule an appointment with Dr. Akagi. She and I needed to talk.

As we left, the silence still growing, I wondered if, on the other hand, she was merely a  
quiet person. I had already concluded that anyone piloting the Evas had to be either  
insane or mentally capable of handling the pressure of not only piloting, but the  
responsibility. Was Rei just one of those strong silent types?

Deciding to test the water from that angle, I made an observation, "You don't say much,  
do you?"

She turned to regard me for a moment, before replying, "I say what I need to say."

"So I'm beginning to notice. Is there anything you like talking about?"

"No."

"Have you ever tried?" I asked, frowning. Didn't she have friends to talk to at school, or  
someone at work she got to talk to?

"…" She looked somewhat surprised at the question, and I would have smiled if my  
unspoken question wasn't filling me with concern. The first noticeable reaction I'd been  
able to get, so far.

Finally: "I speak when spoken to," she said. A moment later, "and that is enough for me."

Oh yeah, silent-type. I was definitely going to have to talk to Dr. Akagi. 

-------------

Once again, I suppose I should say that this chapter was partially completed and waiting for posting, though unlike AYASIF's, This was only about half-complete. So there actually was a bit of work I needed to do, before I could post it. recently, I've come to re-evaluate Eva's characters, and come to the conclusion that a lot of character-stereotypes exist that are somewhat off... Or, in simple terms, I've come to appreciate some character's backstory more. All the "What makes them tick" kind of thing. While this was, originally, a sort of novelization of Gainax's Ayanami Raising game, I decided a while back to turn it into a re-write of Eva, which included some alterations here and there. Hopefully, however, I've kepy the characters as IC as I can... with the intent of subtly beign able to either change them or explain them in a way that the show either didn't, or merely implied. That said, however, I'm not a shrink, so don't expect every little bit of psycho-babble to be factual.

So, anyway, next up, I have... a whole lot of nothing. The next chapter I release will be 100 new, and not somethign that's been sitting aroudn for ages. I think. I'll have to check some older CDRs, but I think I've used up all my pre-written stuff. What would you, my readers, like to see more of?


	4. Chapter 4

Rei stood just inside the entrance to her new room; looking around methodically as she took it in bit-by-bit. I'd tried to give the room a blank-slate sort of feel without looking utilitarian, and was somewhat pleased with my results. There was a lack of decorations, but the bed looked comfortable, the desk looked ready to be used, and the dresser was made of real wood, which I'd found was harder to come by than usual here in Tokyo-3.

"It is acceptable," she finally announced, while I was still mentally patting myself on the back.

'Just acceptable?' I wondered, before speaking out loud, "If there's anything you need or want, just let me know, and I'll see what I can do."

She glanced over at me from her close inspection of the desk, but said nothing. I was beginning to understand just how few words she liked to employ. 'At least it was some sort of response,' I told myself as I backed towards the door.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm feeling a little hungry. Would you like to dine out, or eat here? I checked the local restaurants for vegetarian cuisine, so you don't have to worry if we go out, or I could fix something."

"I can eat," she replied, leaning over her bed and inspecting it as meticulously as she had the desk.

Unsure of how to take that, I nodded, before pressing, "Yes, but since this is your first night here, I thought you might like having the choice; where to go, what to eat..."

She glanced at me again, and I felt a little more of my initial enthusiasm dissipate. Hopefully things weren't going to be this way forever, right? Before I could ask again, she straightened up, wobbled once, and then turned to regard me fully.

"In my current condition, it would be more efficient to stay here and eat," she finally stated, looking at me almost expectantly. I nodded, and glanced at her dressings, which had been replaced at the hospital before we left, but were already looking a little worn, the wraps and bandages having shifted a little as she moved about during the day.

I'd pulled one of her doctors aside to ask about her injuries, and he had replied that the bandages were mostly for protection; the wounds mostly healed. When asked about replacing them, he'd handed me a strip of bandages and some large pads of gauze, and told me to keep them covered for the next couple days. "After that," he'd said, turning away, "they can be exposed, though obviously keep them clean, and avoid stress to the areas. I'll sign off on an exception form for school."

Shaking my head to dismiss the memories for the moment, I focused on Rei, who still stood regarding me carefully, and I nodded. "That's understandable. You've had a busy week, to say the least. Have a seat, and I'll see what I can throw together."

She nodded and sat down on her bed, frowning again at one pain or another, and I sighed as I slipped out of the room. I had some aspirin in my medicine cabinet, as well as a couple of other over-the-counter medicines, but for some reason, Dr. Akagi had told me she couldn't have anything that didn't come out of NERV's own stockpile. When pressed, she'd waved my question off, mumbled something about contaminates, and begun peering into a microscope.

Making my way out to the kitchen, I got to work mixing up a salad from the produce I'd stocked my fridge with over the past couple days. I still had a small bundle of cash that I'd planned on taking Rei out to buy some decorative things, and maybe a couple sets of clothes with, but that was for later. For now, I just wanted her to relax and get used to her new surroundings.

After a little work, I finally managed to make a decent-looking salad, and had managed to make a dressing that tasted okay without using animal products. Frowning at that thought, I reminded myself to ask her how extensive her vegetarianism worked. Some would avoid everything animal-made, from steak to honey, while others would eat fish and eggs, but not beef, pork, or chicken.

Shuddering slightly as I considered a life without steak, I shrugged it off as a personality choice while I filled a couple bowls with the salad and set them on the table. I could have restricted myself to a diet similar to hers, if for no other reason than to ensure she was comfortable, but in the end I decided against it. It may have seemed somewhat selfish, but I figured I could cut back on the meat at home, and just order it at lunch or whenever I ate out.

"Rei? Dinner's ready." I said, pulling out her chair before sitting down. A moment later, she came into the dining room, and sat down, looking somewhat confused.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"No." She replied. After a moment, though, she continued, haltingly, as if she was unused to explaining herself," I'm… accustomed to doing things for myself."

"Ahh," I replied, nodding. "I… Rei, I'm not here to impose my will upon you or anything like that. I know you are an independent person, I could tell that about five minutes after meeting you."

She looked at me for a moment, before nodding and beginning her meal. Doing the same, we finished the rest of our meal in relative silence, which was broken when she looked over at the window and said, "It's quiet."

I quirked a brow at her, "I didn't think you were feeling conversational."

"No, I mean… outside," she said, before looking up at the air vents, "inside, as well."

"Oh. Yeah, I tried to find a good place… Didn't want a long drive to work, but didn't want to hear everything that goes on downtown right outside my window. The superstructure is complete, but there's still some construction going on. Whole sections of downtown are still off-limits to pedestrian and vehicular traffic."

Rei, who glanced outside again at the mention of downtown, nodded almost imperceptibly. "The construction can get very loud," she said. Having driven by a few high-rises apparently being dismantled and re-build, I wasn't going to argue her point. How a section as used-looking as the one I was thinking of had managed to be built in a visible state of disrepair was beyond me. It made sense that the area was being re-designed.

"It is not yet complete."

"Excuse me?" I asked, wondering what she meant. Her sudden addition after a moment of silence had caught me by surprise.

"The superstructure; in section C-13, there are struts in the way of one of the elevators. The section has to be rebuilt," she elaborated.

"Oh, one of the Eva lifts?" I asked, trying to remember where C-13 was in my mental map of Tokyo-3.

Rei looked at me, and I nodded, realizing that was the only kind of shaft that could be mistaken for anything else. Still, "that's fairly impressive. Did you overhear someone talking about it?" I asked.

"No."

"Oh," I replied. She hadn't been out of my sight for much so far today, so either she'd talked to someone about it, or… "Read about it?"

She nodded, looking down at her empty bowl.

"Sorry, do you want more?" I replied, poking at the last few leaves of lettuce in the bottom of my bowl.

"No."

After a moment, I stood up, and gathered up the dishes to toss in the dishwasher. Rei didn't say anything as I did so, and when I turned around, she was just standing there, watching me work.

"Everything okay?" I asked, as I dried my hands off.

She looked at me for a moment before turning away and heading back to her room.

After that, I pulled out some of the paperwork I'd received from Lieutenant Hyuga, and began orienting myself to the numerous screens of the MAGI Supercomputer System. While I'd been given an introductory look, and forced to learn some of it during the last Angel attack, I had decided to request some of the orientation and user information so I wouldn't be left to fend for myself if I needed to man a console once more.

Despite the seemingly-mundane topic of study, it was a bit of a surprise to discover that I'd spend well over an hour looking over potential menus and programs nestled within the system, and had only begun to grasp just how much of Tokyo-3 was run by it. While it made some sense to leave so much automated, I was somewhat curious about the role the elected government had, considering the power NERV had over a majority of the city.

The phone ringing again shook me out of my brief introspective daze, and I moved over to it, wondering who would be calling at this time. A glance at the LED display increased my frown, as nothing was showing up at all. Calls from NERV would do that, but I'd been told I had some relative free-time. Was it about to be rescinded? I picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Lieutenant Kerrigan?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

"Speaking," I replied, frowning. It _was_ NERV.

"This is Agent Tawara, Section Two. We're outside your building now. We've got Pilot Ayanami's personal effects."

"Oh," I said, relieved. "Come on up, then. Thanks for the warning."

"Yes, sir." He hung up, and I turned towards the window, glancing down at the well-lit parking lot and spotting the pair of dark sedans immediately. I was fairly certain the figures standing around it weren't the only two agents in the area, but I didn't feel like grabbing the tactical radio they'd issued me and listening in, instead tucking the service pistol I'd been given into my waistline behind my back as I made my way to the door. A little much, I figured, but better to have and not need than need and not have.

The universe being what it is, of course, it was exactly as I'd been told, and a moment later the Agents left, leaving me with a single cardboard box and wondering if maybe I should have forced the issue to go out. She couldn't have more than a couple pairs of clothes in there, along with whatever other necessities required for living.

Realizing I wasn't alone, I turned to spot Rei, who'd left her room and was watching me expectantly from the hallway.

"Well then, I suppose you're looking forward to something not washed by the starch-laden machines at NERV, huh?" I asked with a smile as I made my way towards her room.

"Where would you like this?" I asked, as she followed me in.

"Anywhere is fine," she replied, continuing to watch me. Shrugging (as best I could with the box in my hands) I set it down beside the bed and crouched over it, before turning to look at her.

"Do you need a hand unpacking?"

"I-" she started in her typical soft tone, before pausing. "I would appreciate that," she said finally, her voice subdued as if asking for help wasn't something she was used to doing.

I nodded, "not a problem." Pulling back the flaps of the box, I frowned as I spotted three school uniforms, and three sets of undergarments, and that was it for clothing.

"These are all the clothes you have?" I asked with a frown. Aside from that, there were some sanitary items, a half-empty bag of rice, a bottle of pills, an empty beaker, and a pair of broken glasses.

Pausing momentarily to glance at the odd assortment of items, I pulled her school uniforms out and spread them on the bed, doing my best to ignore the fact that the clothes left in the box were typically things young women didn't leave just lying about.

"I am able to take care of this," she suddenly stated, as I set the last uniform out. Turning to look at her, I saw that her gaze was on the box, though if she was embarrassed, it certainly didn't show on her face. Still, I was happy I wouldn't have to put her underwear away for her, and nodded, before slipping out the door, pausing in the hallway to release a breath I hadn't been aware I was holding.

Making my way back to the table and the paperwork I'd left out, I sat back down to continue reading, only to realize Rei was back, watching me from the hallway much like she had earlier.

"What's wrong?" I asked, after a brief staring contest I quickly realized I had no chance of winning.

"I am simply awaiting my orders, sir," she replied, suddenly reminding me of her appearance years ago, in the Commander's office.

Looking at the wall clock in confusion, I haltingly replied, "Umm, Rei, it's almost ten. We've been off duty for 4 hours... We're not..." I paused, considering what I was about to say and realizing it wasn't exactly true.

Commander Ikari and Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki had both explained that, as long as Rei was alive, I was to guard her, so technically, I was still on duty. And as a Pilot on-call, she was sort of on-duty, as well. Deciding to revise my earlier statement, I motioned towards the chair across from mine, where she'd eaten earlier. After a moment's hesitation, she moved forward to join me.

"While we're both officially on-call at all times, right now, we're supposed to relax. This is your-" I paused, shaking my head before correcting myself, "_our_ home, now. So while here, while I hope you won't throw any wild parties without warning, you're generally free to do as you'd like."

She looked around the apartment, her gaze almost critical, as if she were judging everything around her for the first time, before she looked at me again. "This does not feel like home."

Visibly wincing, I nodded, feeling a little hurt by the admission, but it had always been a possibility, if not outright expected. "I understand. If it makes you feel any better, I felt the same way when I moved in." When she didn't reply, I continued, "just give it time, and you'll get used to it soon enough."

"What am I to do now?" She asked, finally.

Looking back at the clock, I smiled slightly, "sleep doesn't sound like too bad an idea, actually. The doctors at NERV recommended you get plenty, and I'm starting to feel a little tired myself. Does that sound agreeable to you?"

She didn't say anything to that, simply nodding, before standing and slipping off to her room. Shaking my head slightly at both the unexpected difficulty this situation had presented, as well as in bemusement at the ease with which I had assumed things would progress, I closed up the folders and shut off the lights.

Before succumbing to sleep, I picked up the tactical radio I'd ignored earlier, and briefly told the Section Two team outside that we were turning in for the night.

Then next day started with a staccato crack of thunder, the dim sunlight filtering through the clouds illuminating my room far too subdued to let me guess what time it was. Turning to look at the alarm clock beside my head, I groaned at the flashing 12:00 on its face, and guessing that I had overslept.

Pulling on a clean pair of pants and shrugging on one of the cleaner shirts hanging on the back of my desk chair, I stepped out of my room, only to freeze as I saw a mostly-naked Rei standing in the middle of the apartment, trying her best to re-wrap her injuries. Beside her lay a damp white towel, with a couple spots of blood visible where her wounds had leaked slightly onto it.

"Ohshit," I mumbled, spinning to go back to my room to give her some privacy... as well as making a mental not to remind her that she now shared an apartment.

"I am... in need of assistance, sir." She stated, freezing me in my steps. How the hell did I find myself in this situation right off the bat?

"I... err..." I stumbled, trying to phrase my thoughts without much success. "Maybe you should... Ahh... Put some clothes on?" I finally managed.

"I can not. Several wrappings must be applied beforehand."

I wanted to groan, but stifled the urge as I turned my gaze towards the ceiling and turned around. "Alright," I managed, my voice not much louder than a whisper, "I'll do my best."

Using my peripheral vision to ascertain her closeness, I held out my hand for the length of gauze, but she refused to hand it to me. "If you do not look at what you are doing, your wrappings will be ineffective," she stated, giving no indication that she knew she was asking me to look at her.

Realizing I had no choice, and hoping this wasn't some cruel attempt to get rid of me so soon, I lowered my gaze to meet hers, before nodding, and taking the strip of gauze. "What all must I wrap?" I asked.

She held out her left arm, which was bisected length-wise with a deep cut above the back of her hand, and I set about wrapping it as best I could, glad she at least told me when I was wrapping too tight or too loosely.

As I wrapped, I kept my eyes on the arm before me, somewhat relieved she hadn't screamed at me, yet, and I was hoping to avoid giving her any reason to do so. Considering how soft spoken she was, I was somewhat afraid to hear her if she finally found a reason to unleash her temper.

At least I understood what she had meant by her inability to do this herself. It took two hands to properly wrap the arm with the right amount of pressure, and when she handed me a cotton pad and some medical tape and turned to expose a rather nasty-looking gash over her shoulder blade, I started to lose my fear of her ire, and instead began to frown at the visible damage done to her already.

There were no other scars nearby, but these wounds were hideous, the cuts apparently deep, and surrounded by multiple inches of dark blue and yellow bruises. There was another bruise I could see under her arm, and after carefully taping the cotton padding over the wound on her back, she reached for an ace bandage she apparently intended to wrap her ribs with.

While the doctors had stated that she would need help for a few days, I hadn't really understood the smirk one of them hanging back had been sporting until now. If I had to do this alone, I would have to reach under her arms and fumble around as I passed the wrapping from hand to hand, and I would need to adjust them once they were in place as well.

Rei saved me the humility (or maybe she was saving herself), however, when instead of handing off the entire bandage, she freed one end and held it to her front with her left hand, before feeding the roll back to me with her left. When I wrapped it around her back, she switched hands, and took the roll from me, continuing around until we finished the roll off and she secured the loose end with her good arm.

Her right forearm was still inside a bulky-looking cast that shone slightly in the lights. At first, I had thought it was wet, but when I brushed it passing around the bandage, I realized it was apparently waterproofed. Stepping back, I considered the still-exposed gash on her forehead, but before I could mention it, she took a step forward, turning to look at me over her shoulder.

"I can do the rest myself," she explained, before walking to her room. Looking down at the bloodstained towel and remaining bits of gauze, I briefly considered admonishing her, before sighing and scooping up the linen and making my way towards the bathroom. A tiny washer-dryer combo system sat off to the side, and while it couldn't handle more than a couple sets of clothes at a time, it could certainly clean up a towel.

The little machine had saved me from going in to work with a dirty uniform on more than one occasion, and had been a gift from my parents after I'd completed my NERV training. As I yanked the little circular door open, I made another mental note to show Rei how to use it.

Tossing the towel inside, I added a slightly excessive amount of bleach and some detergent before flipping it on and making my way back to the kitchen. I still had to put away the medical supplies and start breakfast. While I wasn't really sure what Rei was used to eating, I poured myself a bowl of cereal, after pulling out some premade miso-soup and starting to heat it up.

When the soup was set to heat up over the next few minutes, I took my bowl of cereal over to the table and sat down, not bothering with a drink since the milk in the bowl would suffice. Flipping open the paperwork I'd been reviewing last night, I began eating the cereal as I picked up where I left off.

That's how Rei found me a few minutes later, emerging from her room in her school uniform, her arm back in its sling, her head bandaged and the impressively bruised eye covered once more. I hadn't had really looked at it before, but earlier, I had seen that it was red, as if it had been badly irritated, and the fading bruise around it helped remind me of the beating she had suffered in Unit-00. She was, by my reckoning, pretty lucky to be alive, considering how long she'd been stuck in a hospital bed.

Frowning at her uniform, I was about to remind her she had the next two days off from school to heal, before I remembered she didn't have anything else to wear. It brought back memories of my first visit to Commander Ikari's office. She'd been wearing a school uniform then, too. Had she really gone so long with nothing but uniforms? I mean, I wasn't too keen on having a different outfit an hour, but I at least had enough variety to allow me some choice.

"Good morning, Rei," I finally said, deciding a simple greeting would suffice for now. I could suggest a shopping trip later, I figured.

"Good morning," she replied, before making her way over to the kitchen and staring at the steaming miso.

"Ah, that's for you, if you'd like it, or there's cereal if you'd prefer that, instead," I explained.

She didn't respond, but deftly pulled a bowl from the cabinet and poured herself some of the soup, fishing a spoon out of the drawer without searching, and making her way to the table where she began eating in silence.

I was initially surprised by her knowledge of the kitchen layout, but after thinking about it, she'd had all morning to look around and familiarize herself with things.

'All morning,' I thought, realizing there was some nagging feeling that those words brought up. I straightened up in my seat when I realized what I'd forgotten.

"Oh, damn," I muttered, spotting the battery-powered clock. The Commander had told me my days off were over once Rei was released. I was late!

Before I could run however, I spotted Rei, who was now staring at me, obviously wondering what I was doing. Pausing mid-stride, I glanced again at the clock, this time in confusion. Was I supposed to go to work, or was I supposed to stay with Rei?

My jobs at NERV before had all been particularly standard. Well-documented, established positions found in dozens of locations around the world, both inside NERV, and outside. But _this_ job was rushed into existence, and there was no real plan or summary to fall back on if faced with an odd choice. 'Well, no,' I told myself, realizing I wasn't thinking broadly enough. Millions of people had a job very similar to mine. They were called parents.

Glancing at Rei, who was just finishing up her soup, I finally decided to call Dr. Akagi. I could have called Captain Katsuragi, but I didn't want to face her wrath if I woke her up, and I assumed Commanders Ikari and Fuyutsuki would only permit a call in the case of an emergency.

While I was dialing, Rei stood up from her empty bowl and left the table, heading back towards her room.

"Rei," I called, to get her attention. She paused and turned to look at me, waiting for me to continue, but before I could tell her to wait, Dr. Akagi answered the phone.

"Dr. Akagi speaking."

"Ahh... one second, doctor," I muttered quickly into the phone, before covering the mouthpiece and speaking to Rei, "hold on a second, this call shouldn't take too long. I wanted to ask you a couple things."

She didn't respond, but she didn't disappear into her room, so I assumed that meant she was waiting, though the flat stare was a little unnerving. I had assumed she wasn't upset about earlier, maybe I'd annoyed her after all.

"Kerrigan?" I heard the doctor ask from the earpiece.

I pulled my hand away from the mouthpiece. "Yeah, I'm here. Sorry. I was wondering if I was supposed to come in today, or if I was to stay with Rei," I asked quickly.

"Yes, your position was rather rushed. Commander Ikari and I are still going over both you and Misato's proposed schedules," she explained, sounding a little pre-occupied.

"Oh, so we are going to have them," I said, more to myself than her. "So when should I expect to get mine?"

There was a brief pause, and I heard the sound of papers being flipped through haphazardously, before she responded, "Rei has an appointment here today at three. I'll drop the latest schedule off with the Commander once I finish this calibration run, and it should be finalized by the time you get in."

"Sounds like a plan then, Doctor," I said, smiling. I wasn't late.

"Yes... did you look over that paperwork Lieutenant Hyuga gave you?"

"I'm still working on committing it all to memory, but I've read it all, yes," I replied, glancing at the afore-mentioned paperwork on the table.

"Good. While Rei's at her appointment, we'll see about testing what you know, and getting you a place to work from. Anything else?"

She sounded busy, so I quickly told her no.

"Fine, we'll see you at three. Do not be late." She hung up.

Looking at the phone oddly, I muttered a quick "bye," before hanging it up.

Rei, who'd waited patiently, looked slightly curious, and I motioned for her to take a seat on the couch, which she did.

"Alright, Rei. Dr. Akagi says you've got an appointment today at three. It is now," I glanced at the clock again, before continuing, "ten forty-five. Now that we've eaten, I was wondering if you had plans, or if you wanted to go to the store. I set some money aside for you to buy decorations or some new clothes."

While I wasn't an expert on the subject, I'd have probably shuddered at that last bit if it were any other girl. Still, even only having known Rei for a day or so aside from the odd glimpse every now-and-then, I was fairly certain she wouldn't break my meager bank account.

"Is my wardrobe no longer practical?" She asked, after mulling over it for a moment.

I frowned. Break the bank? No. My head, on the other hand... "Your wardrobe is practical, yes..." I trailed off as I considered how to point out its meagerness.

"Then there is no need to adjust it," she responded during my internal debate.

I frowned. "Practical in appearance, maybe, but you're lacking in _quantity_, which can be just as important. And aside from your school uniform and bodysuit, you should really have some things to wear when working out or playing with your friends."

"The 'bodysuit' is called a Plugsuit, and I have a swimsuit to wear when I go swimming at school or the NERV pool. And I have no friends," she replied with some finality.

I blinked, unsure which issue to address first. While she had responded in order, I immediately focused on the subject that seemed most important to me. "You don't have any friends?" I asked.

She shook her head, and I felt my frown deepen. "Why not?"

"I have..." she hesitated, and for the first time I saw her look genuinely confused."I've never been told to make any."

That threw me for a loop. I had already started formulating a response to the anticipated 'they all tease me,' or 'they're not worth my time,' but her response was far too outside the average to apply a standard response to. "Huh." I mumbled, stalling for time. Finally, I had to ask; "if I told you to, would to try?"

Rei looked at me plainly. "Is that an order?"

I thought about that. Logically, I should have said 'yes,' simply because I knew having friends was an important part of maturing mentally. Rei already struck me as being introverted, so some friends might help her come out of her self-imposed exile... 'On the flip-side,' I thought, 'forcing her to make friends might make her resent those friends...' Which would be worse, in the long run. Growing up resentful of those you should trust was a fairly good way to bring out the worst in someone.

Finally, I shrugged, going for the best middle-of-the-road answer I could think of. "I order you to consider it, at the very least."

She nodded, and I smiled slightly to myself, though it melted as her confused expression re-emerged. "I..." she paused, looking even more uncertain.

"Yes?" I prompted.

Her mouth, which had hung open mid-sentence snapped closed, and I saw the slightest hint of a frown pass across her face before she continued, "if I decide to do so, I am... I'm uncertain how to proceed."

I shrugged, turning to look at the clock, before looking her in the eye, "It's not exactly something you can repeat out of a book... everybody is different, and how they see you initially plays as big a part as how you see them."

"I don't understand," she said, and I smiled, before pointing over my shoulder towards her room with my thumb.

"How about you grab your ID, and I can try to explain it to you in the car."

She hesitated for a moment, before nodding softly and heading for her room.

The drive there was usually a short one, but as the question-and-answer session continued, I found reasons to drag the drive out over a greater amount of time. The conversation was... stimulating. It wasn't every day someone questioned what was normally so automatic. And while it was somewhat appalling to think that Rei had been denied even the fundamental points to building a relationship of any sort with another human being, it was also nice, because she took everything I said without the cynicism or doubt most people would. Of course, that was a double edged-sword; if I were to lie and get caught, it might seriously damage her view of me, or people as a whole.

So, I tried to keep to what I knew, and freely admitted to not knowing something when a question asked was one most people would typically make an answer up on the spot to. Finally, we arrived, and as I pulled into a parking spot, she finished her latest question "If you're not friends with Captain Katsuragi, then why do you meet her and Dr. Akagi for drinks?"

Had anyone else been asking the questions Rei had for the past few minutes, I'd have kindly told them to mind their own business, but Rei's apparent _need_ for examples (at least in this situation) and her earnest interest gave me little choice but to be brutally honest. And in doing so, I found myself questioning my own earlier answers.

"Well... I suppose, outside of a work-environment, the Captain and could be considered friends. Or on friendly terms... even when we hang out at the Hilltop, we tend to talk about work." 'Or, really, we gripe about it,' I thought with a grin. Misato definitely did the lion's share of the griping, but I wasn't without a rant or two of my own, every now and then.

And that, of course, led me to thinking a little more, before I finally continued talking, "Honestly, Rei, I think of Captain Katsuragi as my superior first, and my friend second. But you're right, I suppose... She has been a friend."

The department store I'd chosen was fairly deserted this early in the day. With school in, and it being a work-day, there were very few people with free time, and because of that, I suppose we stood out a little.

After convincing Rei to at least _look_ at what they had for sale in the women's department, I was left waiting while she strolled up and down the aisles stoically, and I wondered if even _I_ could look that upset walking with a wall of plastic-wrapped women's underwear to my left and racks of t-shirts to my right.

Suddenly, Rei stopped, her feet stopping so quickly she had to take another step to catch herself, before she spun and turned to look at a t-shirt rack she'd just passed.

Curiosity piqued, I suppressed my discomfort at the potential proximity between me, Rei, and Lingerie, and made my way over to her.

She had stopped in front of a rather plain t-shirt, one of hundreds with typical slogans printed on them, though this particular series of shirt stated 'just one of many' in blocky black text on white cotton.

"Well, looks like you found something," I said, feeling my eyebrows rise as she actually jumped a little when I spoke.

Looking closer, I saw that not all of the shirt was white; its sleeves were a light blue and it had a black collar. Smirking, I tilted my head towards it, "those sleeves almost match your hair."

She didn't respond, merely continuing to stare, before tentatively reaching forward. Before her hand had made it halfway, however, she paused, then turned towards me. "I would... like to have this shirt." She paused, for a moment, then amended, "Please."

I nodded, reaching forward to pull it and its hangar from the rack. "Just make sure it's in your size... and you'll need some pants that match it... I don't think it would go well with your school uniform skirt."

She nodded, taking the hangar from me and checking the tag, before turning to examine the store with a much less put-off gaze. Not that it had been that strong before, but as she headed off towards the racks of pants and skirts, I smiled slightly to myself as I got my first real impression that this just might work out after all.

* * *

Another fic updates, another little victory in the back of my head. With portions of AYASIF5 done, I might just be able to get all of my currently active fics up to date, in a sense. All that's left is NASIF3 and Unexpected Consequences, and those both have little snippets of scens from the next chapters typed out.. I'm just missing the drive to pick those up... much to my dismay at times. In any case, Thanks to Liz and Nate, who pre-read this chapter for me... I asked them to read immediately and they did, which was nice, but I really shouldn't have. So... you two definitely have my thanks for that. 


	5. Chapter 5

NERV was abuzz with activity when we pulled up. The underground garage was packed with unfamiliar vehicles, and the halls were no longer barren, unfamiliar faces wandering (or guided) through them on their way from one location to the next.

When Rei gasped in pain as someone jostled her while shouldering his way through the crowd, I scowled, and waved over a nearby Section Two agent, blinking in surprise as I recognized him.

"Agent Tawara? Help me keep Rei safe in here... who the hell are these people?"

Taking a moment to call for a replacement, he fell in step ahead of us, talking over his shoulder loudly enough to be heard over the other conversations in the hall.

"Media and Government representatives, mostly. As a public agency, NERV has to open its doors sometimes, and after the previous sortie, everyone seems to want to know what happens here, Sir." Pausing to roughly shoulder his way through a group of people speaking German, he continued. "Today is the first of a five-day 'open house,' to let various government agencies and media outlets see what it is that goes on here... This way."

Turning towards an unassuming door marked Exit, Tawara swiped his badge in the card reader beside the door, and pushed it open to reveal a poorly-lit hallway running parallel to the one we were in.

"What's this?" I asked, not recalling anything like it on the map.

"Security Hallway. Most major corridors have them, but it's reserved for command-staff and Section Two," he explained, as we walked. Here and there, a section of the wall had a large flat panel display of the hallway on the other side, and in the center of the corridor we passed two Section Two agents watching a real-time X-ray of the people outside passing through a hidden scanner.

"Am I allowed to use it?" I asked, thinking about the crowds likely to be in the halls this week.

"..." Tawara paused, his steady stride slowing for a moment as he considered the question. "I don't know, sir. Your position during combat operations doesn't allow it, but your position as Pilot Ayanami's guardian does."

Nodding at that, I nodded in greeting to a blank faced Section Two agent passing us, before compromising. "I'll probably never need it after, but could I at least make use of it this week? I can handle the crowds, but in her condition, I'd prefer not risking Rei's safety."

"I am already authorized to access these corridors. As long as you are with me, your position as guardian overrides the security rules concerning Security corridor usage." Rei offered.

"She's right," Tawara replied, nodding. "I'll make a note of it and post it in the break room so you aren't hassled, sir."

"Thanks, Tawara," I offered, smiling.

After being led down a flight of stairs and into a small service elevator that would drop us off near the command deck, the Section Two Agent left us to return to his assigned post, and Rei turned towards a bank of Elevators that led to the entrance of Terminal Dogma.

"Is your appointment down there?" I asked, surprise evident in my voice.

"Yes."

"Ah. Well, I don't think I'm allowed down there-" I started to say, before someone cut me off.

"You aren't, but I am." Turning around, I spotted Dr. Akagi in a pair of white slacks and a blue sleeveless dress shirt. Her lab coat was nowhere to be found. "I'll take Rei to her appointment. You're needed on the bridge."

"I understand," I replied, still somewhat surprised be her lack of a lab coat. Turning away, I headed for the lift to the bridge.

Once there, I sighed in relief. Unlike the more crowded halls in the upper halls of headquarters, beyond a certain point, very few people with press tags or national badges were visible. Apparently NERV had successfully argued to keep _some_ secrets.

"Oh, Kerrigan, you made it," Captain Katsuragi said as the lift slid to a halt.

"Yes, ma'am." I said, looking over at the dominant screen on the back wall. The holographic display between the bridge and the far wall wasn't on, and the looming NERV logo that had replaced the telemetry and tracking display told me that unexpected guests could still turn up here.

"After going over the data from our last sortie, and certain... executive actions were taken, we've found a position for you during combat operations."

"Oh?" I asked, somewhat curious what she meant by 'executive actions.'

"Yes," she replied, nodding and smiling a little. "It should be closer to what you're used to, and it allows for your presence in most of the areas in NERV you need to go."

"What is it?"

"Combat Team Coordinator." She answered with a smile. At my blank look, her smile died a little. "You know... the..." She trailed off, apparently unsure how to explain. Finally she just sighed. "Remember that man who was screaming and panicking below us during the combat operation against the third angel?"

"I... yes." Actually, I had thought it was a woman.

"Well, he's been fired. One of his jobs was to oversee Eva prep in the bay, which you took over for Lieutenant Ibuki after she replace the security guard he'd delegated the task to." She paused, before frowning. "Also, for most of the battle, he was either screaming in frustration due to not understanding the MAGI system, or giving conflicting orders to the wrong teams." Misato shrugged and pointed to a second lift, near the one that I had just stepped off of. "Anyway, there's your ride down to your new station. Orient yourself with the layout, and the MAGI have a basic training system set up to walk you through your new command."

I blinked at that, before nodding and heading to the lift. Leaning on the low railing, I stared down at the lower tier of the bridge, and was somewhat surprised by the number of monitors displaying various locations around NERV.

By the end of the afternoon, I was both elated at my success at understanding the system, and ready to tear my hair out at the numerous errors I'd found in the procedures documents the previous team commander had created. Especially after a quick query had the MAGI system go over each and auto-correct them.

Sitting there and going over the revised schedule for the weapons delivery crews, I suddenly got the feeling I wasn't alone. Turning around, I found Rei standing there, apparently waiting for me.

"Rei! Why didn't you say something?" I asked, feeling lousy. Knowing her, she'd probably been waiting silently for a while. Turning back towards the screen, I quickly locked the terminal down, before standing up. "I take it you're done?"

When she nodded, I turned to look out over the chamber once more, before heading towards the lift.

"Everything go okay?" I asked, as we made our way through the security tunnels towards the exit.

"My healing is progressing as expected."

"Well, that's good. I'm sure you're looking forward to getting that cast off."

"I... Yes."

Something about her hesitation there made me smile. "Well, my day went well enough, too. You want to swing through someplace to eat on the way home?"

"This is the second time you've asked if I wanted to eat out," Rei pointed out.

"Yeah..." I replied, pushing open a heavy door for her.

"Are you afraid of your own cooking?"

Taking a moment to think it over, I shrugged. "Not particularly. I just like to do something a little different every once in a while."

"Having me live with you doesn't count?" She asked, as we made our way through the crowds in the parking garage towards my car.

I couldn't help but chuckle. "It definitely is, but it's something I've had time to prepare for. Eating out is more... spontaneous."

Apparently satisfied with that answer, Rei remained silent for the rest of the ride, finally speaking up when I turned down a side road. "This is not the way to your apartment."

"Nope."

"Somewhere to get food, then?"

"Got it in one," I replied cheerily, as I pulled up to a little out-of-the-way restaurant that I had found in the phone directory. Pulling into one of the parking spots, I motioned for Rei to roll her window down so she could place her order after browsing the menu, and I did the same.

"We don't go in to eat?" She asked, after voicing her selection.

"This place is too small, though there are those picnic tables, if you want to get out and stretch your legs. But most people, I imagine, come here and eat in their cars, like this. See? Here come our drinks now." And indeed, out skated a young woman in a miniskirt with a pair of drinks on a tray. After expertly sliding to a stop outside my window, she handed me the drinks, identifying each as she said so, before complimenting our food choices and zipping back inside.

"Why does she use those?" Rei asked, after nearly a minute of silence.

"The roller skates? I think they're part of the job. It gives this place a uniqueness all its own." I answered, looking over at the door the waitress had disappeared into.

"Is it entertaining?"

I blinked, turning to look at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Roller Skates. They look unstable. Does the company offer the uniqueness for the entertainment of the customers, or do the waitresses do it for entertainment and the company has no policy concerning it?" She elaborated.

"I'd imagine it started with the latter, until the former was adopted to maintain something the customers had come to expect." I finally replied.

Rei remained silent after that until the food was delivered. Between bites, however, I tried to continue the conversation. "Would you like to try?"

Looking out her window at the waitress helping the car a few spots away, she watched the waitress spin away with a smile, before turning back to me. "I'm currently in no condition to do that."

I chuckled. "I would definitely suggest waiting for you to heal first, but if you're interested, it might be a fun way for you to pass the time."

"I..." she trailed off in thought, and I waited patiently as she apparently contemplated her response. Finally, she turned back to the window. "I will consider it."

Nodding, I turned back to my meal, quickly finishing it off. After taking care of the garbage we drove home, where Rei quickly disappeared into her room.

Pulling out the little bit of paperwork I'd manage to grab from my new workplace, I took to studying the map of Tokyo-3, and the support systems built into many of the buildings around town.

I was pulled out of my studies as Rei sat down across from me, watching me silently. Not wanting to ignore her, I set the latest sheet of locations aside, and met her gaze. "Evening," I finally said.

"I've finished my studies, and was... curious." She replied.

"Oh?"

Nodding, she leaned forward to point at a point on the map, which I had just marked as one of the locations for an Eva power cable. "The power coupling in this building is not rated for the throughput needed by an Evangelion in combat."

I stared. "You... know this map?"

Rei merely nodded, and I couldn't help but smile slightly as I handed her the list of Eva weapon caches located throughout the city. "You know all that?"

"Yes." She hadn't even bothered reading the list, just skimmed it.

"Well then..." I trailed off, frowning in thought before asking, "What were you studying?"

"I begin school again in two days. I must keep up my understanding of the schoolwork if I am to maintain an acceptable grade."

"... What's an acceptable grade?" I asked, frowning at the word choice.

"As long as I pass, it is acceptable."

I snorted. "No, not really. Go get your books, Rei. I can study this stuff any time, but schoolwork... well, lets see where you stand, and go from there."

"..." She sat there watching me.

"Something wrong?"

"Your grades indicate that you yourself strove, at best, for mediocrity during the majority of your schooling," she stated calmly.

I wish I had tried that one on my parents when they had gotten on my case about doing schoolwork. But then, I'd never known how they did in school. Actually; "how do you know how well I did in school?"

"It's in your second personnel record."

"Oh." I actually lapsed back to English as I thought about that. Rei had seen my Personnel record? My _second_ record? What the hell was a second record? Aside from extremely detailed, apparently.

Even more unnerving: how far back did they go? Second Impact had happened my sixth year of grade school, and my first four years had been in a coastal city. _Those_ records, at least, should be under a few dozen feet of ocean. Or had NERV hunted them down, somehow? Surely there'd be some electronic records that survived, transcripts notwithstanding, but if there was enough information to imply from the data that I had worked to maintain a decidedly average grade throughout high school and college...

"That's only slightly horrifying..." I muttered. At her confused look, I smiled, though it was a little shaky. "The fact that I have a file detailed enough to let you come to that conclusion," I elaborated.

"Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki made the conclusion after interviewing what teachers of yours he could contact." Rei stated.

Letting out a sigh, I nodded. "That would make sense. More so than what paranoid conclusions I had jumped to, in any case." Shaking my head to clear it of my sudden bout of paranoia, I met Rei's gaze. "Tell you what, I'll help you with your school work for an hour each night, and in a week, we'll see if we don't have your grades up a bit."

"And if I... refuse?" She asked quietly.

I frowned at her, but it dissolved into curiosity as I noticed the intensity in her gaze. That hadn't been a challenge, it had been an honest inquiry. Was she expecting punishment? I knew she followed orders, but I hadn't phrased it as one, had I?

I decided to parry her question. "What could I offer you to make you accept?"

"Let me help you." She replied instantly.

"... with?" I asked, surprised at her sudden change in attitude.

Leaning forward, she pointed at the map on the table. "The Ammunition feed system for the pallet rifle in section 141-A2 freezes up and maintenance doesn't know why." She moved her finger to another section, "The Eva-lift in C-3 is blocked by a weight-bearing strut system and the entire section is being reworked, blocking access and egress during combat as well as making all powered systems in the area unreliable."

I blinked. None of that was in my paperwork. "You... really enjoy this, don't you?" I asked, finally.

She turned to look at me again, and her only exposed eye shone with determination. "I pilot Evangelion. In battle, these systems offer the support I must rely on to complete my task. It would be criminally negligent of me to not know them intricately."

Spoken with such conviction! I nodded. "As Combat Team Coordinator, it makes sense to keep you apprised of any situations anyway. How would you help me?"

"Evangelions are humanoid in design, piloted by us through a mental command and control system. This is to allow instinct and training to overcome the intricacies of piloting a multi-ton weapon system during combat. Tokyo-3 is designed as a fortress to supplement and house multiple Evangelion Units which can be dispatched to deal with Angelic incursions."

Nothing I didn't already know, though she was talking more than I'd ever heard her talk before, so I merely nodded hoping she'd continue. She didn't disappoint.

"Several systems designed to deliver weapons to Eva are currently backwards, delivering a rifle to the right hand of an Eva facing inwards. As all three current pilots are right-handed, this is a design and placement oversight that nobody has yet noticed."

I realized what she meant. The Third Angel had moved into the city from the ocean, and once engaged by Unit-01, it had been far faster than anything that large had any right to move. Of course, Unit-01 had also been fast, but having seen an Eva in combat, I knew that the trouble of rotating and pulling an Eva-sized weapon across its body would take seconds, and with Angels, every second counted.

"I see... so you want me to help make modifications to the city to improve your ability to pilot, is that it?" Not that I had that power. I could probably suggest, but I didn't have the power to force the issue.

"No." She shook her head. "My job is to pilot Evangelion. I will work with whatever systems are available. How well each Evangelion performs, however, is dependent, in part, by the systems upon which it relies. As it is your job during combat to oversee those support system's maintenance, the performance of the Eva reflects upon your preparedness."

I frowned. "Unit-00 is still undergoing repairs though... for the time being, Shin..." I trailed off in realization.

Rei might be prepared to handle any eccentricity in the city's layout, but only because she knew them all, and therefore, what to expect. _Shinji_, on the other hand, was utterly new to the city's many systems. If an Angel were to attack while he was the only pilot on call, his fumbling with a faulty delivery system at a bad moment could doom the human race. Rei wanted to help me, but in so doing, she was also ensuring her own continued existence.

Not exactly the best position to bargain from; at least not when the other person could see that, but at the same time, Rei was definitely showing some hidden depths. It's not like my offer to help her in school wasn't somewhat transparent, itself. Her doing better in school would definitely look good for me, after all.

"That sounds fair," I replied, finally. Re nodded and turned towards her room to get her books.

As she walked away, my phone rang. Answering it, I was surprised to hear a rather exhausted-sounding Misato on the other end.

"Kerrigan, we need you to come in tomorrow," she said, after identifying herself.

"Ahh... should I bring Rei?" I asked, confused.

"No. Rits- Dr. Akagi says Rei's self-sufficient enough to handle herself during the afternoon." There was another voice on the other end, Dr. Akagi, I assumed, before Misato continued, "Yeah... basically, you're allowed some time away, and will be expected in during work weeks once Rei begins her schooling."

"Well... Rei is scheduled to start school the day after tomorrow. Should I come in tomorrow, or wait until then?"

There was a moment of conversation on the other end, before Misato responded. "That'll work. Come to my office and we'll get started."

"Get started with what?" I asked, confused.

"Combat Sims. Shinji is already scheduled to start them in a few days, until then, we need to get the support staff up to par. That means you need to be here monitoring your teams, who will be performing drills around Tokyo-3."

"I see. If you planned all that for tomorrow, then I'll come in. No need to change everyone's schedule for me." I said, feeling somewhat surprised at how generous she was being in the rescheduling.

Then she laughed. "Oh, it's nothing like that. You're the team coordinator. Who do you think is supposed to call everyone and tell them you changed the day for the combat drills?"

I winced. That... made a bit more sense. "Then... I'll come in tomorrow, and oversee the combat drills."

I could hear the smile in her voice. "Thanks for understanding. See you tomorrow at nine!"

Shoving the phone back in my pocket, I turned around to see Rei seated at the table with a book out and open.

"I guess we should begin?" I asked rhetorically as I sat back down.

* * *

The next day, I arrived at NERV around eight-thirty, hoping to at least look over the day's plans before we got started. Unfortunately, I had completely forgotten the crowd, and only barely made it to my station on the bridge by nine. The packed elevators crowded hallways, and occasional jerk who tried to slip into locked doorways with me had eaten up what little time I had, and I felt quite a few pairs of eyes on me as the lift deposited me on the lower tier on which I would work during an actual angel attack.

"Impressive timing," Dr. Akagi said, looking at her watch before nodding to herself. "Since Captain Katsuragi isn't here yet, I'm going to be guiding you through the basics."

"Understood," I replied, nodding.

"Good. During daily operations, someone with lower clearance will be overseeing upkeep and basic preparedness for all Eva-based systems throughout Tokyo-3." Ritsuko started, jumping straight in. I glanced down at the terminal I was supposed to work at, and frowned. Before I could ask anything, however, she continued; "while they have lower clearance, a majority of the maintenance is simple scheduling, which the MAGI can and will be doing. During a combat situation, however, all nonessential processes are halted and the full power of the MAGI is devoted to analyzing the situation as it evolves. This is where you come in." She turned to look at me, and after a moment, I realized she was awaiting a response.

"Bring Ayanami to NERV as soon as we receive notice of an impending Angel attack, get here as fast as possible, and take over from the MAGI."

"Correct. Launch crews like the one you oversaw during the last battle are well-trained and thanks to your assistance, prepared for the next battle. Only in the even of an unexpected change will you be required to personally oversee things there, either from here, or making your way there, if your presence is needed."

As she continued, I learned that the bridge crew above, Hyuuga, Ibuki, and Aoba, would be overseeing overall Eva and Tokyo-3 operations. Captain Katsuragi would be directing under the watch of the two commanders, while Dr. Akagi stood by to monitor the Evangelions themselves, as well as the pilots within. The tier I was on would carry out 'autonomous' functions, weapon emplacement reloads, shifting Eva ordinance around so that it can be supplied immediately, and dispatching repair teams in the event that damages received during battle destroy or interrupt something critical to mission success.

Before we could actually begin, Captain Katsuragi, arrived. "Sorry I'm late; those crowds are hell on timing!"

"Oddly enough, even with the crowds, Kerrigan here managed to arrive exactly at nine," Ritsuko muttered.

"Well I'm glad someone did. So where are the crews?" Misato asked.

"Since you weren't here, and Kerrigan can hardly be expected to know everything about a job he has had no real training for, I took the liberty of having the MAGI notify them. While we wait for everyone to arrive and get into position, I was giving the Lieutenant here a brief explanation of his job... something I seem to recall asking you to do."

Misato merely chuckled Nervously.

"Never mind. I'm heading back to the Pribnow Box. You need to show him the basic dispatching and monitoring interfaces, the communications system, and if you have time, the xenobiological recovery systems," Dr. Akagi said, stepping onto the lift and beginning her ascent.

"Will do," Misato mumbled, looking down at the terminal with a frown. "Guess we should get started. She told you what you'll be doing, now I have to show you how to do it. Or start..."

With Katsuragi and the MAGI's assistance, I began learning how to do my job from the terminal. With its voice recognition system, I even got a little practice giving and receiving audio reports similar to those I would be expected to deal with in combat.

Before we could start learning about the XRS, as the Captain referred to it, her phone rang.

"Captain Katsuragi speaking."

"Ah! About time."

"No, but your new boss might.."

"I doubt it. Give us a second, and we'll get a teleconference started."

Misato shut her phone off and flashed me a grin. "That was your subordinate, Ensign Sato. Why don't you call him up on the system with the video interface."

Blinking, I turned back to the terminal and brought up the communications system, stumbling for a moment before spotting a video-conferencing option I know for a fact the Captain had NOT shown me earlier.

"Ahh, Lieutenant Kerrigan? I'm Ensign Sato, your Executive in this little branch of NERV's extensive command tree," A chipper-looking young man said.

"I didn't realize this was a command position," was my first reply.

Sato's gaze shifted to Captain Katsuragi's. He didn't say anything, just gave her a familiar look of weary incredulity.

"I'm sorry, that was dumb of me. It's _obviously_ a command position. I just didn't realize it entailed an executive officer. I'm pleased to meet you, Ensign. Forgive my rudeness, it's a pleasure to meet you." I quickly replied, feeling my face heat up. A rather horrible first impression.

"Not to worry, sir. I was just calling to inform you that all crews have arrived and are in position. I'll be standing by for your orders. Sato out."

With that the image winked out of existence, though in that last instant, I could swear he shot Misato another look.

"Don't worry about him, he's a great guy. I think he's just worried about you." She offered.

"Worried _about_ me? Not for me?" I asked, frowning.

Misato grimaced, before nodding. "Remember, the last guy here was.. not that great. He's probably worried you'll end up like him."

I blinked. "Fired?"

Misato shook her head, smiling. "No. Yelling at him to do something while an Angel tears into the Geofront."

"Oh," I replied, unsure how to take that. At least I knew what not to do. "So... they're standing by... for the combat drills, I assume. What will I be doing?"

Suddenly, the oversized screen on the wall above me flashed red, little hexagons with the word "emergency" covering the wall as sirens began wailing everywhere. When I turned to look at Misato, eyes-wide, she was already riding the lift back up to the main bridge. "NOW WE DRILL FOR COMBAT!" She yelled at me over the myriad alert noises.

* * *

Needless to say, it was with great pleasure that I drove home that evening, knowing I had the next day off. While I hadn't wowed anyone with my initial performance, after a couple frantic hours, I started to understand what was expected of me, and composed myself fairly well. At least, that's what Sato and Katsuragi said as we were going over the day's progress.

Sato proved to be my anti-go-to-guy; instead of going to him with problems, he would go to them. I was practically confined to the bridge during an emergency, so Sato, who had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of every system involved, would take whatever transportation was available to any spot I dispatched him to when a team ran into an unexpected problem.

Of course, Thursday's xenobiological recovery systems overview promised to be just as interesting. At least there wouldn't be as many alarms, I hoped.

Arriving home, I wanted to collapse onto my bed, but Rei seemed to have been waiting for me, sitting there at the table expectantly, with a map of Tokyo-3 spread out, and her school books in the chair beside her.

After a quick shower, we settled into looking Tokyo-3 over with an eye for shortcuts, design inconsistencies, and points of entry/egress.

Rei's knowledge of the city's layout was as complex as Sato's understanding of the weapon systems spread throughout the city, and I shuddered to think of the two of them getting together to discuss Tokyo-3, even as I began to put the information both of them had spent the day filling my head with to use.

When I finally called a halt to my homework, it was 9 P.M. Rei silently rolled the map up, and I couldn't help but start. Her arm was still slung, but the plaster cast had apparently been replaced during the day with something far less encumbering. When had that happened?

"Did you see a Doctor Akagi today?" I asked as she got out her school books.

"Yes."

"Oh. I guess that's one of the things she had to do today... I'm glad you're healing. If I had known you were coming in, I'd have offered you a ride." I said, looking over our notes for her math from last night.

"It isn't a long walk." She replied, before jumping right in and asking me about an algebra formula I hadn't used since college.

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A/N: Alright, false-start on that upload, forgot the Author's notes. Sorry it took so long, there's more where this came from (in my head!) and all that. I have one day left to write in the fic before Rei begins school, and I can start really jumping ahead. Sorry if I didn't detail every little step Kerrigan took, but I didn't want to get overly tedious. This is a fic about Rei primarily, and I don't think it makes too much sense detailing the minutiae of Kerrigan's day, except to maybe let the reader know what color socks he prefers to wear or something to that effect. Not pertinent... Not yet anyway.

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